The Normal Life
by Didi
Summary: There's no such thing as normal in Wolf Lake. Last Chapter Epilogue
1. Chapter 1

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
There are certain things you don't talk to your parents about. What you do on Saturday night when you're suppose to be studying with your gal pals. What kind of underwear you think will be most appropriate should a guy 'accidentally' see them. And the physical changes that is associated with growing up is a huge no-no.   
  
Now, I'm not talking about the whole hairy armpits, tender breasts or anything quite so tame. I'm talking about going on all fours, hair on your back and eyes going a color that is not normally found in nature except maybe on flowers. I'm talking about the ultimate going primal kind of thing. I'm talking about totally changing the way you are; from something recognizable to... well, to something your own mother would shoot a first sight.   
  
Okay that's not fair, especially if you live in Wolf Lake.   
  
Things are different here. Not different as in totally bizarre different, just.... not everything is what you'd expect and not everything you expect is what it is. It's kind of hard to explain. Heck, half the time, I don't even know half of what's going on.   
  
You add the dynamics of this town to the fact that your teenage years are suppose to be your most troubled years, and last thing you're going to get is a 'normal' life.   
  
Then you add on top of that the fact that my dad is overprotective, self-suppressing in more ways than one, and his ultimate fear that I'll become one of 'them,' and you end up with the totally messed-up me.   
  
There are just days when I want to crawl into my bed, pull the covers over my head and just sleep my life away from the strangeness that seem to cover this town every once in a full moon, which is almost every night. Take today for example.  
  
I was pretty sure that yesterday's horrible leg-breaking homecoming game was the worse part of the season, and let's not even go into Luke Cates's strange behavior afterwards, but it was nothing compared the way I was being looked at, treated and whispered about in school. And you know who is to blame for all this? Lucas Cates, of course. Cause he was an idiot with a non-thinking mouth and I'm not even sure why he was the big idiot of the day.   
  
The boy shows up in my room, in the middle of the night with my father two doors down no less, and tells me that he made the announcement that I was his. HIS?!? What is any liberal-minded, twenty-first century girl to make of that? Ahh.... I swear, Luke is like my own personal Nemesis.   
  
"Sophia," I turned to watch as everyone else in the schoolyard watched Dave approach me. If it had been the fact that this was happening to me, I would have found this amusing. "Hey, I tried to call you last night but no one answered."  
  
I forced myself to smile as I can almost hear all the ears around perk up to hear anything I have to say. This kind of attention is ... very unnerving. "Hi, sorry about cutting the night short yesterday."  
  
"Hey, it's cool," he flashed that sweet apple-pie smile and I almost cringed. It was easy to lie to Dave; he couldn't smell you lying to him as some others could. "I'm just sorry that you weren't felling well."  
  
"Thank you," I wanted to reach out and touch him, to show him that I appreciated his wonderful attentiveness toward my well-being. But if Luke had been telling the truth and that he really had announced his claim on me, touching Dave could be his death. "I really appreciate you looking out for me."  
  
"Who won't," he smiled, and motioned me toward the school gates. It was time to go in soon. "Are you feeling better now?"  
  
"Yeah, a whole lot better," and I was. Getting away from all the prying eyes could definitely do me some good. I hasn't so flustered by the fact that the clan was on high alert today, I'd probably enjoy this mild flirtation a lot more. "Thanks for driving me home."  
  
"Anytime," he grinned and leaned in, as if to kiss me. For a moment, I was tempted.  
  
"Problems, Sophia?" The cool as cucumber voice was like having ice water dumped on my head. He stood there, leaning against the edge of the gate, arms crossed over his chest and an amused smile graced his face. If he didn't look so damn good, I'd kick him.   
  
"None, what so ever," I forced myself to stay calm and don't let his presence get to me. Besides which, I'm not the one in immediate danger from Luke or anyone else present. I can only imagine what inventive ways they could hurt Dave. "If you'll excuse us," it was definitely time to get my homecoming dance date out of here as quickly as possible while I still can. Red blood seriously clashed with my new pink blouse.   
  
"Stay for a moment," Sean said quietly as he leaned just enough out to stop me from crossing the gates into the safety of the schoolyard. "I think we should get to know your little friend here better." He smiled; it was the kind of smile that made you think of trouble.   
  
"I think we need to get to class now," I hoped that the though of incurring the wrath of our ever watchful teachers would deter them from acting stupid.   
  
"I think we have a few minutes, Charlie D'Angelo was possibly the only member of Luke's following that I can seriously say that I despise with a passion. He was the kind of bully that made regular bullies look like boy scouts. This is the guy that went hunting one night for jocks cause he felt the need for a bit of challenge. I hate guys like that, especially when they have the advantage of being part animal. "Why won't we have a bit of..."  
  
"Sophia wants to go to class early and be the good little girl," Luke's mouth just curled in the kind of amusement that made the hair on my hair stand up on ends. "We shouldn't try to stop her."  
  
It was because he agreed with me that made me nervous as hell. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, as I knew it would.   
  
"Dave, isn't it?" Oh god, this was going to get ugly. 


	2. Chapter 2

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
I think my fascination with her eyes could be one of my down falls. When one looks into that liquid firry depth, one forgets even how to breathe. As romantic as that may sound, especially coming from a hardened cynic like me, I always have to remember one very important thing taught to me from the cradle: any kind of weakness can be used against me around here. And Sophia Donner was undoubtedly one of my bigger weaknesses.   
  
I really shouldn't be irritating her right now, she's probably peeved at me as it is, but I couldn't help myself. When she's angry, she's alive and vibrant. How can anyone resist that combination of beauty, innocence and goodness? We see so little of it around here. It's good to see her laugh, happy with the world at large. I just wish it wasn't her little 'friend' that was the instigator of her pleasures.   
  
Seeing her with that guy... Well, there isn't anything I could do about my little moments of jealousy. And now that I've committed myself to something, I'm going to have to see it through. "Dave, isn't it?"  
  
Alarm entered those luminous eyes so quickly that I was startled for a moment. What did she think I was going to do? Go all primal on him right here and now? Does she really think I don't have the common sense of a three year old? Granted, I'm sorely tempted by the thought. It probably won't take more than glowing eyes to put the fear of whatever God he pray to in him, but that would be petty and would no doubt get me in serious trouble with my father.   
  
"Yeah! Wow, you know my name," the kid had the look of a puppy that just got a pat on the head. I know that I'm popular but this is just embarrassing, for him that is. If it wasn't for the fact that he irritated me by hanging onto the girl of my choice, I'd probably be amused by the almost hero worship on that guy's face. It was going to be like taking candy from a baby.   
  
Sean and Charlie were both grinning from ear to ear; they were both anticipating a little fun, no doubt picked up from my own sense of the impending...   
  
"I think we should get to class now," Sophia reached over and tugged on Dave's arm, her eyes warning me. I swear, sometimes she's more protective of our secrets that we are. "I want to go over the history notes before class, Miss Meyers says that she may give a quiz."  
  
Maybe, and that's a huge maybe, nothing would have happened had Sophia not chosen to touch him. But let's face it, when your woman - I have to remember not to call Sophia that to her face - touches another man, you tend to see red. She'll be carrying his scent for at least four or five hours now. That was simply unacceptable by any standards that I adhere to.   
  
Reaching out, I jerked Sophia away with a little too much force. "Ouch!" I forget at times just how strong we really are, even when we aren't in our primal forms. Looking back on that, I'm not sure which one of us was more surprised: Sophia, Dave, or me. I simply couldn't believe that I lost control like that. I let go straight away, but the damage was already done.   
  
"Hey," Dave's immediate reaction was expected, putting himself forward to protect Sophia; heck I probably would have taken offense if he hadn't reacted that way. Fortunately for him, Sophia decided to take control of the situation.  
  
"Dave," she put herself between us, her back toward me and facing him. "It's okay, let's just go to class." She turned her head enough to slant me a glance, one that told me to watch myself that I was really pushing it. And as tempted as I was to do something I'd probably regret tomorrow, I was not completely out of my mind. "If that's all right with you, Mr. Cates."  
  
I would have winced at the icicles that were no doubt at the end of my nose if I thought it would not get a reaction from everyone else. One of the things I hate getting from Sophia is that cold glance that can freeze me in my tracks. The look does not belong on her; she's too warm of a person for that particularly unattractive expression to stay long on her face.   
  
I guess I could have created some trouble had I wanted to really piss off Sophia and mess with Dave's head, but that wasn't going to do me any good. Besides, I think my little dealings with Dave need to be away from Sophia's presence and sense of protective nature for the humans. Until then...  
  
Stepping aside, I allowed them to pass without another word. But a part of me couldn't- wouldn't-let it go. *It isn't over, Sophia.*  
  
Her head snapped back; she looked at me part startled and part afraid. I had to smile; I've just confirmed what I suspected. And now she knows that I know. The momentary fear in her eyes disappeared almost as soon as I recognized it. *You better believe it's not.*  
  
The thought floated into my head without much effort on her part, which only makes me think that she did it completely unconsciously. She was moving along the path faster than I had expected, or maybe I hadn't noticed her progress fast enough. Either way, it was a good sign and she's just made my day and saved her little friend's head.   
  
The fun is just about to begin.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
The young ones are impetuous, only to be expected. But I have to say that they're a lot wilder in this generation than the next. Even Ruby Cates and her gang weren't nearly as undomesticated as Luke Cates and his current following. That whole stupid thing with the radioactive waste truck, sheesh. But then, Ruby Cates has created more headaches for Willard that I suspect Luke ever well.  
  
Poor sweet Ruby, her life caught between the razor-sharp edges of both sides of the coin. She would love to live one way, but her birth right and place within the pack would force her to live another. Very much like young Sophia Donner.   
  
Now there's another child that will find life to be a series of challenges. Not one and certainly not the other. I suppose if I weren't who I was, I'd warn Matt the impending dangerous that faces both father and child. But being the Keeper means that I can only sit back and observe the events. Sure, every once in a while I need to step in; after all I am still part of this pack. But for most parts...  
  
Then again, perhaps I owe Donner something for what happened all those years ago. Marie was a lovely woman, better suited for Donner than the then young Vivian ever could be. But I doubt anyone other than myself and Matt ever saw that.   
  
Poor, poor Marie. Life never was so peaceful in Wolf Lake for you or your little girl. Sophia could really use your gentle guidance right about now. Poor sweet young innocent Sophia. Her life is about to take a dramatic turn for the hairy side. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
  
Note: When I started Eyes, I didn't know that name of the blonde Luke was sleeping with so I named her Brittany. Since then, I've learned that her name is Presley. But for story continuality, we're going to call her Brittany.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
He is very much like his father, though he does at time remind me too much of myself at his age. Perhaps it is because he reminds me of me that I worry so for him. I was a rather impulsive and arrogant youth, too many mistakes made that way. The biggest one may be not seeing the threat Marie Jankins... Marie Donner had been to my future.   
  
Sixteen years and I still can't seem to remember that she is... was... always will be Mrs. Matthew Donner. Hum... Even now, I still don't see it. Matt could have had it all: the clan, the leadership, the power... me. Yet he turned his back on everything to be with her.   
  
My mother once told me that love was very strange and very difficult to understand. But then my mother always viewed the world as a big chess game, always looking to see where to put herself so that she may have the utmost advantage on everyone else. She was never above using her own sexuality and appeal to gain what she wanted. Love was merely another tool for her to wield at will. God, I hope never end up to be as cold as she.   
  
There are moments when I fear that I am coldhearted, but then I look at Luke, I look at Matt, I look at Willard... and I know that I'm not. Willard. God, the man is Alpha yet he looks at me as if I'm ... as I'm something more than he. It humbles me to know that. Humbles me to know that he loves me, even now when he's pain is so great and the time of his life draws near the end, he humbles me with his devotion.   
  
Luke is like that sometimes, loves more than he can explain, can handle. That's what I fear most about him, that he would lose his heart too quickly as I did. God knows that I can understand the kind of heartache one carries when they love too deeply and cannot let go. Even now....  
  
"V?" I turned and look at my husband.   
  
Even now, with everything his body is putting him through, he looks every bit the Alpha he had been years before. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," he smiled at me, that soft smile that spoke of his love for me. "You were just looking so pensive that I thought I would come cheer you up."  
  
Returning the smile, I walked into his arms. "I was just thinking of Luke."  
  
He sighed with more amusement than exasperation. "What did our little cub do this time?"  
  
I wanted to laugh. When it came to his children, Willard can tolerate almost anything from them. Besides which, I believe he rather enjoyed some of Luke's more outrageous stunts: possibility because it reminded him much of his own wild youth. "Your son has created an enemy of our town Sheriff."  
  
"Donner?" Those ice blue eyes narrowed for a moment. Even he recognized the danger Matthew Donner posed, even after all these years. They were friends at one time, and some would say that they still are, but they have never made it a secret that the mutual respect that exists between them is completely fair game when their family is involved. As Alpha, Willard has the advantage. But Matt still holds much sway and his loyalists have never wavered. "What happened?"  
  
Here's where the egos of proud papas may come to head. "Rumors are rampant that Luke has proclaimed his mate."  
  
Surprise came then followed quickly by amusement. "Well that was quick. But then I always suspected that our son has a rather impulsive streak in him though I had wished that he would have picked someone with a bit more intelligence than Brittany?" The confusion came a second later. "What does Donner have to do with Luke's pick of mate?"  
  
It sometimes amazes me how completely oblivious men can be when it comes to the affairs of the heart. "Perhaps it has something to do with that fact that Luke is not as intellectually challenged in his choice of mates as you would believe him to be."  
  
"He didn't choice the curly blonde?"  
  
I shook my head, waiting for it.  
  
The minute it hit, Willard's face resembled something akin to deer on the headlights. "Sophia Donner?"  
  
I wonder if I look as amused by the look on his face as I feel. "Are you really that surprised? Our boy has never really made his fascination with her a secret. Everyone knows that he watches her like a hawk does a field mice. Why would it come as a shock that he would choose her as mate?"  
  
"Yes but I had assume..." Willard shook his head. The disturbed look in his eyes was well felt. I knew that it concerned him, Luke's choice, but I can't really say that I was unhappy with the decision. But Willard had other things to consider. "I intend for Luke to one day run the pack, if he was to choose a human as mate..."  
  
"But Sophia is not human," I had to point out. "She is Matthew Donner's daughter."  
  
He nodded, accepting that but there was something in his eyes when I mentioned Donner's name. After all these years, he still hasn't forgotten that I chose Matt first. "She may never turn."  
  
"Perhaps," I acknowledged. "But I don't think that matters to Luke." I watched him, waiting. "Were it to be you, would you?"  
  
"If it is love," he shook his head. "No, I don't suppose it would." He gave a rather enigmatic smile. "It certainly didn't matter to Donner."  
  
How can I possibly forget that? "Donner will be out for our son's blood once he learns of this."  
  
"Yes," the amusement on his face did not bode well. "But Donner will do nothing."  
  
"Really?" now there was a surprise. I had thought Willard wiser than this. "When one's young is threatened, a parent will do just about anything to protect its offspring."  
  
"Yes, but Donner is also an honorable and just man." The touch of respect was there grudgingly. "He will do Luke no harm so long as Luke remembers not to do anything stupid."  
  
I agreed wholeheartedly. Donner's honor as never in question, there is no doubt in my mind that he would do the right thing. On the other hand... "This is Luke we're talking about. When has a hormonally charged teenage boy been rational where the affairs of the heart is concerned? Much less your son?"  
  
He frowned. "Oh boy. There's going to be trouble."  
  
I couldn't agree more.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
It's been almost sixteen years since I last turned and more than that since I felt the urge to hunt. But today, I came about as close to tearing someone's head off as I have in all my life. The insanity of it is, there really was nothing I or anyone else can do about this until it's too late. There are moments when I think someone up there is really testing my patience.   
  
"Sheriff?" Molly, my deputy, was looking at me with troubled eyes. I have a feeling that while most of my emotions are well hidden, there are certain things that I probably can't hide right now, even if my life depended upon it. Like the need to bury Lucas Cates six feet under and as far away from my daughter as humanly possible.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Kanin is sniffing around the Ashton's Field again. Should I go keep an eye on him?" She looked only a little too eager to keep our new recruit company.   
  
"Yeah, keep an eye on him," I nodded her toward the door but stopped her with a serious warning. "But remember who he technically belong to, Molly. It's not wise to cross her."  
  
"Like I'd be stupid enough to mess with the Cates," she made a face than pushed the door open. "But it doesn't mean I don't get to check out our new guy." The grin was teasing and her eyes flash with fun. Oh to be young again.   
  
"Sheriff." The voice made me wince slightly. Why? I'm not all too sure of. But there is something about Sherman Blackstone that always reminded me of getting caught with my feet up on the sofa by my mother. Perhaps it was the wisdom in the man's eyes, though you could hardly tell by the way he speaks.   
  
"Sherman? What can I do for you?"  
  
The man had a grin that just made the fine hair at the nape of my neck stand on end. The look in his eyes says that he knew something I didn't but should know. The question was whether or not he was going to tell me. "How is your daughter?"  
  
That really got the chills going. "She's doing fine."  
  
I swear if he didn't stop smiling at me like that, I was going to do some real damage to that face of his. "I guess you heard the news."  
  
"Rumors," I didn't even try to pretend not knowing, it was pointless. Wolf Lake was not a big town, but it hide is secrets well, though some things are about as normal as any small town like would be, such as the speed of juicy gossip. "They are merely rumors that have no basis and certainly no..."  
  
"He made it pretty public last night."  
  
Now that part I didn't hear about. "What did he do?"  
  
"Pretty much what any young cub would do to mark his territory," the grin was really getting to me. And wise as he may be, Sherman was really lousy at reading all the subtle body signals people generally radiate at this point. I don't doubt that he knew that I was pissed off, yet he still kept at it. But then, he could just be doing this to irritate me. "But that's not why I'm here."  
  
"Why are you here?" Glad to be off the subject of my daughter's impending brush with the town's golden bad boy.   
  
"Like I asked earlier, how is your daughter?" This time it was asked with a certain degree of seriousness that made me pay attention in a way that I hadn't before. The old coot was trying to tell me something without breaking his code as the Keeper. If nothing else, he knew who his friends are and where he can pass things onto when needed.   
  
There was a moment of silence as I struggled to answer the question. It wasn't the question that was difficult for Sophia has always had a healthy disposition, even as a pre-mature infant. She has always been healthy if not always happy. There has to be something else to the question that I'm not seeing quite yet.   
  
It wasn't until I looked to see Sherman watch me with those dark eyes that were so deep that they almost gleam in their richness of color. Then it hit me harder than it should have.   
  
I should have suspected, should have been watching for it.   
  
I wasn't naïve enough to think that this has anything to do with Sophia's schoolwork; my girl gets straight A's in school. No this is more, much more than Luke Cates and the pack. Much more than any foolish teenage proclamation that happens once every blue moon, granted it was a little more when it came from the heir apparent to the Alpha. This was something else, something I feared for more than sixteen years now. And Sherman knew it.   
  
"Oh god," my little girl was changing. 


	4. Chapter 4

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.   
  
**Note: Fast Forwarding the timeline: Willard Cates has been killed and we're at the wake.**  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
They're watching, I can feel it. Luke, Dad, Mr. Blackstone, everyone... They don't come right out and say it. No, that would be too honest, too direct. Instead, I feel like I'm under a large microscope, every word, every movement being taken apart by their eyes. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs and never stop.   
  
No wonder my father didn't fear for me. This could drive a normal person insane, to say nothing of a freakish half-breed like me.  
  
"Sophia," I turned at watch 'him' approach. Evening knowing that I've been avoiding the guy for days now, I couldn't just turn away, not when I can see he was hurting so bad on the inside. "Thanks for coming." The pain was not there in his voice; it was in his eyes. He had beautifully telling eyes that were so incredibly sad right now that I wanted to take away the pain for him. I never seem to be able to keep in mind that Lucas Cates was not a child I needed to coddle. Yet the need to was there.  
  
I offered a smile, putting my hand on his arm. "Is there anything I can do for you to help?" Even in such a sobering occasion, I could see the gleam come to those luminous globes. Feeling my cheeks go hot, I shook my head at his exasperating line of thinking. "Anything but that."  
  
He smiled; it was a sad but amused smile. "In that case, no. There's nothing you can do for me, thanks."  
  
"Seriously Luke, if there's anything I can do..."   
  
His eyes glaze came back to mine so fast, I was startled for a moment. "There's nothing anyone can do but find the guy that did this."  
  
"And they will," I tried to sound reassuring, tried to help but even I had my doubts. My father was good at what he does; he was a good cop. But this case has everyone on edge. Not only was a man killed, he was our...their leader, the Alpha. Who could...would do such a thing? "Just be patient and everything will..."  
  
"Nothing will ever be the same, Sophia." Luke's voice was low and hissed angrily as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the crowd. "No one is ever going to find out who did this, cause you know why? This is pack business and everyone knows it, even your dad. He's not going to interfere. He can't. Even he has to obey the rules of the game, he can't go after whoever did this. It would break the chain that's kept us safe for centuries."  
  
The raw deal that was happening was getting to him; I can see it. The glow had slowly steeped into his features and he was on the verge. The anger was doing it. "Luke," I looked around, trying to find somewhere less conspicuous. Not everyone present was from the pack, I couldn't risk letting Luke lose it in front of the humans.   
  
But the town had showed up for the wake, the place was packed. The only place that could possibly be empty would be... I almost cringed at the thought but knew that I had every little choice. "Come on."  
  
He gave no resistance as I tugged on his arm, pulling him up the two flights of stairs. From there, he led the way, guiding me down the corridor and turning the knob to the last door in the hall. Without a word, he pushed me gently in and shut the door behind us.   
  
If someone had told me yesterday that I'd wind up in Lucas Cates's room today, I'd have laughed at their overly developed imagination. But here I was, standing in a room that was twice the size of mine and decorated in shades of brown and dark green. Strangely enough, it was very sober for such a flamboyant guy. No wild posters, no piles of clothes laying everywhere, no expensive stereo system against the wall. It was all very neat and rather... pretty.  
  
I was startled out of my thoughts when warm arms came around me from behind. For a moment, I felt a twinge of fear. I had just basically closeted myself away with the guy that announced his intentions to make me his personal property. God, I hated that term. He was bigger, stronger, and definitely more vicious than anything I can ever muster up... but then I remembered... he was Luke. And if nothing else, I knew that Luke would never hurt me.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
Nuzzling her neck, for the first time since I found out about my father's death, I relaxed. She was warm, softer than I had expected, and so unbelievably sweet. I wasn't sure how she'd react to me just up and grabbing her from behind, but I need to feel her close. Need the scent and warmth of her to make me feel.... to make me simply feel.   
  
The numbness that enveloped me since two days ago has yet to leave me and I hate the feeling. God, I hate the helplessness and the incredible pain that surrounds my heart with every breath that I take in. I hate that I don't know what really happened out there, whether he had been in any pain or not. I hate not knowing who the hell would have the nerve to do this! And worse of all, I hate the fact that he's gone.   
  
My father was gone. The man I thought would live forever was no longer there. Sure there were times when I feared him, and why shouldn't I have? He was Alpha. But he was my father first and foremost. Sometimes, I forget that. And now... that's all I can think about. My father was gone.   
  
"Luke?" Her voice was angel soft and hesitant. She didn't turn around like I had expected her to, but her arms came around mine, hugging them to her. She leaned back against me allowing me to make all the moves for her. Perhaps two days ago, I would have simply thrown her on the king size bed that took up a quarter of my room and help myself to whatever she had to offer in the way of comfort. But today...today I simply wanted to hold her. And perhaps she knew that. "What can I do?"  
  
I shook my head, lowering my chin down to her shoulder for a moment. I didn't need her to see me like this, weak with grief. But she made no effort to face me. "Just stand here and let me hold you."  
  
The smile was something I'd always been glad to see. Now, I can feel it bloom onto her face as she tiled her head toward me for a moment. "I think I can manage that."  
  
I tightened my hold for a second then relaxed. "Want to sit?"  
  
It might have been me, but I could almost sense the amusement come. "Sure, unless you're going to suggest the bed."  
  
Laughing, and it felt good to laugh, I shook my head. The idea had fluttering in mind for a moment but I had already dismissed it. "I was thinking of the arm chair by the window."  
  
She turned her head, searching the room. "Nice chair," she commented and I had to smile. I guess it wasn't want people traditionally would think of being in a teenager's room. But I loved the big oversized embroidered arms chair with its cherry wood arms and legs. The dark baroque style tapestry that covered the seat and back was done in dark hues of red, burgundy and brown. It was a serious piece of future. I love it. And I could sense Sophia did too. "But there's only one."  
  
Some may say that my sense of humor needs a serious purging. But I think it was just right. "We only need one."  
  
With my arms still wrapped around her, I moved us toward the seat. I wasn't ready to face her yet, wasn't nearly ready to allow this side of me to be seen by anyone. And so I took the coward's way out, I let my false bravado do all my public appearances. And in this case, I simply stayed silent.   
  
Dropping into the chair, I took her down with me, settling her in my lap, still facing away from me. She leaned back, curling her body into the curves of mine. It was as if she had been made to be held by me and me alone.   
  
We sat there together, facing the window where the sunset threw yellow and red light through the glass panes. It was so wonderfully peaceful that for a moment, I could almost forget about the hundred bloodthirsty hounds down stairs. I could almost forget, from here on out, my life was in danger. Whoever wanted to be the next Alpha, would no doubt kill me at first chance.   
  
And because I made that stupid but honest proclamation, I may have just put Sophia's life in danger. 


	5. Chapter 5

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Note: Darn it, they've taken the show off the air again. (sigh) I'm in grief.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
I watched both of them grow up slowly under the eagle eyes of the town. One the Alpha's son; the other the daughter our town's rebel. Life was tough for both in their different ways, but they've made it this far through different means. Now, just as it would appear that their future would be linked, our ways may take everything away.   
  
But if I had it my way, the danger would pass quickly for both and this pack would have a strong leadership that can keep us safe.   
  
Leadership is the key out the survival of the pack; I've always known that. Willard Cates had been a good leader, a strong influence. Sixteen years ago there was another that could have been better but the fates had other plans in stored for that one. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Willard had been a mistake, just that there could have been an even stronger Alpha. But that's neither here or there.   
  
Now, with the leadership seat empty, the fighting for control will begin. Even at this wake, to mourn the lost of a great man, I can see the reins of control coming loose. The main contenders were ready to go for the goal. I only fear that there will be plenty of blood shed before our town is safe once more.   
  
"You're deep in thoughts," Donner commented as he took a seat next to me. "Care to share?"  
  
I smiled; the man was as sharp as ever. "I was just remembering that old Cates still owes me twenty bucks."  
  
Donner gave a snort of laughter. "What did he owe you for?"  
  
"Game at the diner," it had been a good game too. If he hadn't been distracted by the news of Luke's announcement, he might have won. "The cheap bastard probably up and died just to get out of paying me."  
  
Shaking his head, Donner poured me another drink before sitting back to watch the rest of the pack as I have been doing. "I'm sure V would be willing to honor his debt if you approach her with it."  
  
"Don't think I won't."  
  
"Now that we've got that settled," he turned to look at him with seriousness. "Why don't you tell me what you were really thinking of?"  
  
He was good, the damn bastard. But then that's why I like him so much, one of the few men around that can't or simply won't be distracted by me. He and I dealt well together. We were both watching, waiting, knowing too much. "If Tyler succeeds in convincing Ruby to marry him..."  
  
"He may just win leadership," Matthew Donner was no fool. He knew that stakes in this game. "But then he'd have to go to through some heavy hitters first. The others aren't without their supports."  
  
I knew that part too. The old school would not just simply bow to the hostile take over of a younger, and probably more foolish, upstart. "But Ruby's presence count for a lot, may just be enough to tip the scale."  
  
Nodding his understanding, Matthew tossed back the drink. I had forgotten that Donner was one of the few people that can match me drink for drink. Must remember to invite him over more often. Glancing over at the young cub, Matt shook his head. "You're assuming that Tyler makes it through the next few days alive."  
  
"That's a big maybe," I have to agree with that. The arrogance the boy was pouring forth as he stood there by the mantel; it was enough to make me want the leadership just to see him drop kicked to the curb. "Who knows, he may accidentally drown in that jar of gel he uses on his hair."  
  
Donner laughed. I could always count on him to get my little quirks.   
  
"And what pleasant thoughts brought those smiles on your faces?" Vivian asked as she slides into the seat next to Donner. "Please do share, I could use a laugh right about now."   
  
She looked worn. The last couple of days must be getting to her. With Willard gone, her safe little haven may be in danger. Added on top of the fact that she's got a son that isn't nearly old enough to fend for himself among the big boys yet. That's got to be putting the stress on. "Oh just remembering the good times with Will. He owes me twenty bucks."  
  
She smiles but it didn't touch her eyes. They were glassy with grief, anxiety and fatigue. I felt bad for her. "I'll see to it that you get that money."   
  
I smiled for her, "No hurry. I better be going now, too much to do."  
  
"Sherman," she reached out and touched my hand. Her fingers were icy cold. "Be kind to him in your records."  
  
I knew what she was asking me but I couldn't give her that. "I'm the Keeper of the Clan, V. Not the Keeper of the Conspiracies. I only record what I know, not what I don't."  
  
She nodded, accepting this as all the others before her have. "Thank you for coming to the ceremony."  
  
"He was a friend as well as a leader," I squeeze her hand. She was going to need a lot of strength to get through the next few days. I can only hope that she was as cold as everyone says she is. If not, she may not be able to hold on to her son, her sanity or her life.   
  
This is going to be an interesting few days to come.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
"Matt," I looked at her, her eyes shielded all the emotions that was no doubt churning in her. "Walk with me."  
  
I nodded. If nothing else, V and I had once been friends. We walked slowly through the crowd, getting more speculative glances that I would have liked. But those I can ignore. What I can't ignore was the uneasy feeling I was getting now that I've noticed that my daughter was nowhere to be found. And while under normal circumstances, I would have gone in search, now was not the time to draw more attention to my child, not with everything else going on.   
  
When we reached the balcony, V drew me outside and shut the door firmly behind her. "The glass was made sound proof. Anything we say here stays out here."  
  
I wasn't sure if I was glad to hear that or not.  
  
"They're going to kill my son, you know that don't you? Just like they tried to Willard when his father passed on." She leaned against the railing, her fears finally surfacing as she looked at me from the corner of her eyes. "The minute the new leader is chosen, they'll come after him."  
  
I didn't know what to say. Even after all these years away from pack business, I couldn't forget the rules taught from the cradle. She was right; they would show no mercy, for if they did, it could be their necks on the line in the future.   
  
"He's not ready," she stared out over the treetops. "Luke is strong but he's not a man yet. He's nowhere near ready to fight them off. And I may not be able to help him."  
  
"Send him away," that was no suggestion, not even a real option but I had to throw it out there.   
  
"We both know that I can't," the incredible helplessness I sensed in here made my heart contract. For a moment, the invincible Vivian Cates looked ready to crumble. This was her child, her only flesh and blood offspring. The thought of losing him... I can't imagine my life without Sophia. What Vivian must be going through...but then she seemed to pull herself together once more. "But that's not why I asked you to come out here."  
  
The grave look she gave me made me shutter. "What is it then?"  
  
"Sophia."  
  
That got my heart pumping fast. "What about her?"  
  
She almost smiled, must have sensed the unease in me. "I take it you heard my son's announcement at the school dance."  
  
"How could I not?" I wasn't really in the mood to discuss this now. That's a bone I'll have to pick with the young Cates at another time. Right now, his life was...  
  
"Sophia is his now, whether you like to believe that or not," she turned to look at the glass partition, at the horde of vultures that sat in her living room. "Do you think who ever becomes Alpha will spare her if they come after Luke?" 


	6. Chapter 6

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Okay, remember that this is after Willard Cates has been killed but incorporates all the elements that have been in my story. Oh, and after this chapter, totally off canon.   
  
Note: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! I just found out that UPN will be at least airing reruns of the show for the next couple of weeks. Which means there is a chance of another season. Cross your fingers and toes guys, there's to hoping!  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
I knew it shook him. I shouldn't have done it like that, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. I don't have the luxury of sparing any more energy on being gentle. And there is nothing like parental protectiveness to get a person on the defensive. "They'll kill her. She is Luke's mate, she'll have to die."  
  
"No!" He turned away, those bright blue eyes sharp with denial. I hated myself for putting that look there, that look of half panic, half desperation. God knows I knew how he felt. "No, I won't let that happen."  
  
It gave me hope to hear that. "You really think you can control it, Matt?"  
  
He doesn't answer me. We stood there for a while, just looking over the vast treetops that surrounded my home for the past sixteen years like walls of a fortress. But this fortress is currently under siege and at any moment, the walls can crumble around me. I fear for myself, for my family, for my son.   
  
Strange, this was the first time I've felt any fear since the day I learned that Matt had secretly eloped with Marie. I had felt enormous fear that day. But there had been hope. Willard had been there to rescue me that fateful day. He had swooped in on his white charger and saved me. But Willard was no longer here. He couldn't save nor protect me and mine. I only have myself to rely on now. Me and perhaps another...  
  
"The clan will meet in three days time to vote. The killings will happen you know. The killings will start tonight if not at this farce of a wake." The anger that surged through me left me shaken. I was on the verge of going wild. These people in my house, in my home, they were there to take over. They wanted everything I've build for myself over the last sixteen years. God how I hated every one of them. "If you're thinking of taking Sophia out of town, don't. They'll be watching you. They'll be watching her. She'd be dead before you even..."  
  
He turned so quick that I was startled and it took a hell lot to frighten me these days. "I can protect my own." It wasn't the words that gave me hope; it was the glow in his eyes. How many years have it been since I've seen it last? And yet it still gave me a thrill to witness the power behind it. "Anyone that thinks they're going to get my daughter with me around has another thing coming."  
  
I had to force myself not to smile, not to laugh with joy. The Matthew Donner I knew was back.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
The whistling of the wind through the trees always sounded to me like the crying of Mother Nature. Perhaps that's appropriate for this day. He let me go though the consequences to the pack could be detrimental. But he let me go because he was my father and he loved me. How do you hate someone that loved you so much?  
  
Sitting by his grave, I have to wonder what went through his mind those last few seconds on earth. Did he hate me for my need to be with John? Who pulled the trigger? Who killed my father? And was he killed because he couldn't kill me?   
  
Why did life have to be so complicated?  
  
His scent was carried to me by the wind. He made no attempt to disguise his approach; he knew he didn't need to. "I thought you'd be here."  
  
"Did you think I wouldn't be around?" I asked quietly, and smiled as he sat down on the dirt next to me. Strong around came around me, squeezing my shoulders in comfort both for himself and for me. "How are you, little brother?"  
  
"Better," he smiled, eyes filled with sadness but there was something else there. "Much better now."  
  
He had a scent not of his clinging to him. Lavender was nice but definitely not him. "Who is she?"  
  
Light eyes turned toward me. Luke looked so much like his mother sometimes that I forget that he was my brother, that we shared some of the same blood that both blessed and cursed us. The blank coldness passed his glaze. "Sophia."  
  
I was not sure why it surprised me but it did. "Sheriff Donner's daughter?"  
  
"You know any other Sophia around here?" he smiled. I could see the sheer joy that was there, but something tinted the sweetness of young love. "She's... She's incredible."  
  
It was heartless for me to say it but someone has to. "She's human."  
  
"That's what you and her father like to believe."  
  
I can see it, taste it; he completely believes what he said. "You know something you'd like to share with me?"  
  
"I don't need to," he turned to stare at the soft dirt that covered the grave. "The town will know soon enough. No need for me to..."  
  
"They'll kill her," but then he already knew that. It was there in his eyes, all that fear and sorrow was not merely for himself and our deceased father. "You have to get her out of here."  
  
"I can't," he looked so forlorn. "They're watching, waiting. Not just me but her too." He laughed bitterly. "Not four days ago announced to the world the I was going to make Sophia my mate. I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Now... Now it's going to be the bullet that kills her. I've signed her death warrant."  
  
"You didn't know this was going to happen," I hated to see him like this. God, do I look as love-lost as he does right now? John... How can I... "You may be safe, you know."  
  
"You are not going to marry Tyler." Luke said so causally that I blinked. "He doesn't deserve you."  
  
"It would keep the killings from happening and keep you safe." It was a bitter pill to swallow. The thought of long days and longer nights with a man that would sell his mother to the devil for some pack leverage was enough to make me want to trade places with my father. "Besides, at one point Tyler and I were..."  
  
"You're in love with someone else," he looked at him, those teenage eyes so wise and old with burdens. "A month ago I'd probably say screw it and tell you to do what's right for the clan. But now..."  
  
"Now you've taste the sweet torture of love," I smiled both with amusement and sympathy.   
  
"Mock it all you like, Rubes. You know that I'm right. The kind of life you'd be making for yourself, it'll kill your spirits. And like dad once said, if you kill the spirit, the body will wither and die." He reached out, gripped my hand with strength that I knew would grow with time. "Don't do it, especially not for me. I'd hate you for it and then I'd have to hate myself for it as well."  
  
I believe him. The knowledge hurt even as it thrilled. "So what do we do?"  
  
"We wait," he nodded his head and sighed. Getting up, he reached out and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. "It's time you come out into the open. John Kanin isn't going to go away and you can't leave, that much Dad and I agreed whole-heartedly. The pack is coming to come get use to it. We'll see what happens in three days and decide what the fate has in stored for us. In the mean time, it's time you moved back into the house. We're a family, no matter what."   
  
The smile came before I realized that it was there. "When did you become so wise?"  
  
"When Dad died." He looked at the grave once more. "Good bye, Dad. Rest in peace."  
  
Rest in peace. It was easily for him to rest in peace. It's living that's going to be hard. Why couldn't I have had a normal life? 


	7. Chapter 7

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
It's cold, almost frighteningly so. The chill of the night cut through the thin cotten and seem to pierce my skin, drawing blood in the form of goose bumps. Was I frightened? You better believe it. My heart felt like it was thumping away just next to my ear. I don't even remembered getting out of bed.  
  
But here I am, three a.m. in the morning and standing out side of John Kanin's front door. Or I should say his new front door. He had finally decided to take a permanent place in town, a small cottage by the woods. Why did he decide to settle down all of a sudden? I'm not sure. But then again, I'm not sure of anything much these days.   
  
I shouldn't be here; it was too dangerous. Heck, I don't even know what I'm doing here only that I am. My dad would kill me if he knew I was out after curfew. But then again, he'd be also worried to death about where I was, what I was doing and what I might have become. It's the latter part that frightened me more than anything.   
  
"What am I doing here?" I asked the wind as it blew pass me, lifting my hair and carried with it the scent of a man near by. John Kanin.  
  
Looking down at the white nightgown I wore, I was relieved to find it still intact. At least I didn't go canine and simply forgot about it. But then I doubt anyone can forget his or her first time.   
  
Stepping up to the porch, I wondered for a brief moment how I was supposed to explain my sudden appearance at his door. But before I can come up with a feasible excuse, the door was jerked open and I was looking down the barrel of a nine-millimeter. I wonder if I should have been surprised.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Kanin asked sleepily as he lowered the gun and flipped the safety back on. Rubbing his face, he opened the door wider. "Get in here before you freeze to death."  
  
I almost smiled, he sounded so disgruntled by my disturbing his sleep. "I'm sorry to wake you."  
  
"You skulking around my porch at..." He peered at the clock in the darkness of the living room. "Three in the morning and I'm suppose to be all bushy tailed and happy? All the coffee in the world isn't going to do that for me right now. Again, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I..." No excuse as yet to formulate in my mind. "I couldn't sleep and..."  
  
"And you decide to take a walk in the dark," he made a face and sat down on the rub indicating the only chair in the room for me to sit. "Try not to insult my sense of humor while trying to override my intelligence here."   
  
"I'm sorry," talk about feeling completely stupid. I can't even tell him why I'm here since I have yet to figure that part out myself. Well, they say that honesty is the best policy. "I just don't know."  
  
Kanin sat there and sighed, looking at me with those dark-haunting eyes. I wonder if that's what Ruby first saw in him, those eyes that were so beautifully mesmerizing. "You want coffee or tea while we talk?"  
  
"Tea please," I smiled wondering if he knew how much he sounded like my father just then. He didn't even question my motives, just simply let be. "How do you like the new place?"  
  
"Better than the motel," he said putting the kettle on. "Thank your dad for bringing me the crock pot for me will you?"  
  
"Dad got you a crock pot?" This amused me, my father was one of the few people in this world that I know of that really cannot cook. How many pots and pans did he burn to uselessness over the years? But like a good soldier, he kept trying.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't have the heart to tell him I have no idea how to use one." John turned and picked up a book on the counter. "But I did receive a nice crock pot receipt book from Sherman."  
  
"They planned it together I'm guessing."  
  
"Don't guess," he made a face and got down two mugs, both with wolves head on the handle. "By the way, is there anyway I can talk you into finding me some decent mugs?"  
  
"What's wrong with those?"  
  
"Vivian Cates gave them to me," he slanted me a look. "I boiled them in hot water for three hours. If there was poison laced in them, I hope they're all gone."  
  
I nodded in understanding but for totally different reasons than the one he must be speculating. "Mrs. Cates would be more subtle than poison."  
  
"Like?"  
  
I grinned. "Like a nice hunting accident?"  
  
He turned and looked at me with serious eyes, startling me for a moment. "The kind that killed her husband?"  
  
I could have bitten off my tongue for that. "No, I... I'm sorry. That was a really bad joke."  
  
Shrugging those broad shoulders, he turned off the whistling kettle and poured the water before adding the tea bags in. "So why don't you tell me what's got you running around in the dark in your nightgown?"  
  
"Nothing," I shrugged and accepted the hot mug with a thanks. "I really can't think why I just suddenly had to get away."  
  
"And come here?" He grinned and sat on the ground again, settling his mug on the cardboard box turned coffee table. "Sophia, I know that this town has more than its share of secrets and I know that you probably know a lot about much of it. I can respect that your need to keep certain things to yourself but if you need help, I've got to know the truth."  
  
"The truth?" I wanted to laugh. Truth was definitely one of the hardest things to uncover around here. "I can honestly say that I'm not sure what's going on anymore. Things have been going wiggy on me lately and I feel like everything is just spinning out of control. Ever get that feeling? Like you're not in control of anything in your life any more?"  
  
"Yeah," he nodded with a sad smile. "When Ruby disappeared, I felt like my world was collapsing around me and that I can't seem to get a hold of anything."  
  
The haunted look in his eyes, I've seen it many times before in my own father's eyes when he gazed at pictures of my mother. A love so deep and so strong, even when apart it was almost tangible. "You love her?"  
  
"Love?" He looked at me. "A three letter word means almost nothing to me. You can't describe what I feel for Ruby with something so simple, I don't think anyone that's been here before could."   
  
I wanted to tell him then, to try to lift some of that pain of loss I see in his eyes. "What would you give to have her back?"  
  
No hesitation, no regrets. "My life."   
  
I didn't know what to say, if I knew the pack as well as I do, he may end up giving just that for his love. Why did things have to be so complicated, even for a normal person like him? Why can't we get normal lives, as we should be entitled to in this lifetime? Why did things have to be so hard? "I better get going. My dad will be worried if he comes home and I'm not there."  
  
"I'll drive you."  
  
"No need."  
  
"Sure there is," he smiled and grabbed his keys from a hook on the wall.   
  
It suddenly occurred to me that throughout the whole conversation, he never once turned on the light and I never once asked him to. We sat, talked, and had tea in the darkness with only the moon through the window as our only illumination. And while for me, it can be understandable that my hyped up senses no doubt made this a frequent occurrence, Kanin should not have been able to see so well in the dark.   
  
Just when I was about to dismiss the whole train of thought on Kanin's excellent night vision, something else occurred to me. "Hey, how did you know I was on the porch anyways?"  
  
"I heard you," he answered as he started up his car.  
  
Heard me? If I had made even so much as a decibel of sound, I'd suck the tailpipe of this car. He heard me in the silence? I don't think so. What the heck is going on?  
  
TBC 


	8. Chapter 8

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
"What the heck is going on?" The question was more to myself than to Ruby as we sat in the living room where Mom had called a 'family' meeting.   
  
As regal as ever, my mother sat in an armchair, my dad's, and stared at the fire. The last 24 hours have been less than kind of her but she's hanging in there just as we all are. Sherman Blackstone stood by the oak desk that my father and grandfather had conducted business behind and looked only mildly curious at being called in tonight. And Ruby, with her sad gray eyes, was curled on the loveseat, watching and waiting for mom to make her move.   
  
"I'm not going to marry him," Ruby announced the day before, her body tense with anger and determination. We had waited until the last guest in that farce of a wake had left to return to the house, we had made it perfectly clear that we stand together in Ruby's return to her life in Wolf Lake. I think she expected my mother to scowl her on the duties of keeping the peace within the clan.  
  
"So be it," Mom had merely said with an arched brow and walked away.   
  
You know that saying, silent as a tomb. Well, that's been what the house felt like for the last 24 hours. Ruby walking around in a cautious tread in case Mom has something up her sleeves; she's putting off her coming out until the day of the vote. Mom is walking around with her head somewhere; probably does have something up her sleeves that she isn't sharing yet but I have a strange feeling that it's got nothing to do with Rubes. And me? Let's just say that I would gladly have traded in all the comforts of home for a few moments of calming peace with Sophia.   
  
"You want to tell me what's so important that you have to drag me out on a night light this?" Mr. Blackstone glanced at the window and gave a visible shutter as the lightning cracked closer to the house that anyone would have liked.   
  
Looking up, I was reminded that my mother was a very dangerous woman in her youth. Thanking Blackstone with a nod of her head, she got up and walked to the side cupboard. "I know that you would rather be watching television or reading at the moment, Sherman, and I apologize for dragging your away from your pleasures but I need a outsider's view."  
  
I looked at Ruby, startled, and she returned the same look. "What's going on, Mom?"  
  
She turned to us, her eyes shaded by concern. "We all know what's going to happen in two days time and we don't have the luxury of sitting around waiting for the pieces to fall into place. It could mean death to some of us and life ever miserable to others." She looked pointedly at Ruby and sighed. "Tyler could have been the Alpha but there are other things to consider now. I respect your decision on your future."  
  
Ruby sat stock-still but something in Mom's eyes must have convinced her. "Thank you."  
  
"But know this," she turned and poured herself a drink, offering one to Sherman. "Any other man would not have tolerated John Kanin interference in our community. If Tyler becomes Alpha, first thing he is going to do is tear Kanin apart, as would any other man that comes into his path."  
  
"I understand that," Ruby looked blankly at her for a moment before nodding. "As the only white wolf in the pack at the moment, I do have some leverage." The smile she gave was full of irony. All her life, Ruby has hated her status within the clan and the fact that she was the only white wolf in the pack for over a century. Now, it appears to be the one thing that will save the man she loves. "I give him my protection."  
  
"Marry him."  
  
That simple suggestion sent a shock wave through the room. And to be honest, I'm not sure who was more surprised by it, Mom or Ruby.   
  
"Sherman, you cannot possibly be serious!" Mom eyes were glowing dangerously now.  
  
"This is not a joke to me," Ruby's eyes became teary and she turned away. It killed her to know that she could not be with Kanin. And I have to say that I'm a little astonished that Mr. Blackstone would be cruel.   
  
"Did I say it was?" Blackstone moved over the to sideboard and poured more brandy into his shifter, all the while watching Ruby with his dark eyes. "You want to give him protection right? As your husband, he is under the protection of the pack just as Marie Donner had been when she married Matt Donner."  
  
"And look how well that turned out?" I couldn't help myself. Sohpia's mother had died horribly in an 'accident.' I've always had my suspicions since I head the story.   
  
"Those were turbulent times, Luke." Blackstone shook his head. "There were a lot of fighting and some people got caught in the cross fire."  
  
"Like Sophia's mom?"  
  
"Yes, like Sohpia's mom. That was a very ugly time in our pack's history; Wolf Lake has not always been a quiet place. People ran, people hid, people did whatever was necessary to insure their survival and the survival of their young. It's all very natural and part of the great circle of life." He nodded gravely but said nothing more. It always bothered me that the Keeper was so... very weird. There were so many secrets hidden in the recesses of that mind of his. Hum... I wonder if he's picked his successor?  
  
"Sherman, how can even suggest such a thing," Mom paced, a nervous justure that I have never seen her do. "Ruby is a white wolf, her destiny lies toward leadership of this pack. She cannot possibly marry a...a..."  
  
"Human is the word you're looking for," Ruby suggested quietly, her eyes full of hope for the first time since her return from the outside. Instead of the infinite shades of anguish, there was a light in those gray eyes. "Sherman, if you're serious about this..."  
  
"I am!" He shook his head and laughed. "Why does everyone think that I can't be serious for a few moments when life hangs at the balance?"  
  
"If I marry John," Ruby reached over and took my hand. Her hand was rigidly cold with fear, "If I marry him, I can keep him from certain deaths? That the other will not... they won't try to..."  
  
"I didn't say that they wouldn't try."  
  
The indignation came out in a burst as I squeezed Ruby's hand. "Stop playing with Ruby's hopes and just tell us what she's got to do to keep Kanin from harm."  
  
My mother stared at me for a moment, shocked.   
  
Ruby offered me grateful smile.   
  
And Mr. Blackstone? He clapped his hands and smiled at me. "Bravo, young Cates. You do have the making of an Alpha inside of you. Be proud." He turned to Ruby. "Marry him fast but in the open. And make it clear to the rest of the pack the consequence of what will happen if they think to take things into their own hands."  
  
Ruby nodded slowly and I could already see the wheels turning in her mind. No one ever called my sister a fool. She'll make this happen, even if she's got to take on the rest of the pack on her own. "Vivian, I know that you don't approve but I'm going to need help if I'm going to pull this off."  
  
My mother stood there, with her back to the fire creating a halo of fire around her, and stared at us. Then it was as if something clicked into place in her mind. "You're family. Of course I'll help. But I'm going to need some help of my own if I'm going to protect Luke."  
  
I felt the eyes on me now, filled with concern and fear. So much for some happy news.   
  
TBC 


	9. Chapter 9

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
One of the most pleasurable things I've found in life is this wonderful sense of peace I feel when I'm near him. He exerted the kind of powerful quiet radiance that even sleep cannot hide; I can remember laying there in the dead of the night just watching him as he slumbered. He was so beautiful, still is.   
  
I cried the last time I saw him, knowing that I could never be with him without it killing him. Now... now I sit on his bed just watching. If I can pull this off, if I can get him into the church and married before anyone was the wiser, I can be happy. Granted life with me will not always be pleasant given who I am and what I am, but I love him and I'll do anything to be with him. Can I say the same of him?   
  
Only one way to find out.  
  
"John?" His skin was warm to the touch, velvet smooth and smelled of the wilderness. It always intrigued me that his scent was so very... right. "John?"  
  
He stirred gently, fighting to waking up. For a moment, those dark mysterious eyes were blank of recognition and my heart stopped. Then he blinked...and blinked again....and blanked even harder. "Ruby?"  
  
The disbelief in his voice made me hurt for him. And the note of pleading made me want to cry. But the hope I hear, it made all my senses jump in a chorus of joy. "It's me."  
  
"Oh my god," his arms came around me, firm but gentle, as if he was afraid that I would evaporate into thin air. Afraid that I was nothing but a dream come to haunt him. "It's you, it's really you."  
  
My heart swelled to a painful size that I want to weep in pain. But now was not the time, there was still too much that can go wrong, too much that can happen. "Shh.... We must be careful."  
  
"What is it?" He asked me, pulling back to search my eyes. His face reflected his anxiety for me. "Are you in trouble?"  
  
I almost laughed in irony. Here I was terrified that he was going to get hurt, and what were the first words out of him mouth? Concern for me. How can I not love him? How can I not give my life for him?  
  
"No," I wanted to tell him, tell him everything there is so that nothing stands between us. But I am scared, I'm so afraid that once he knew, he'd turned form me. But can I really do this without tell him the truth? Can he forgive me if didn't? And in those moments, I cursed the blood that runs through my veins. "John Kanin, do you have any idea how much I love you?"  
  
He smiled, that beautiful joyous smile that lit his face from the inside. Just imagining life without ever seeing that radiance made my heart ache. "If you feel for me even a faction of what I feel for you, I am the luckiest man in the world."  
  
I felt the tears on my cheeks before I felt them in my eyes. The gods were cruel to put me through this. I can't tell him, not yet. "Listen to me, you have to listen."  
  
He nodded, his attention so completely focused on me that for a moment I forgot everything else but him. "I'm listening."  
  
"It's dangerous here."   
  
"I know," he lips curled just enough to give me a sense of what the people in this town must have put him through, as if the chase through the woods weren't enough. "Boy do I know that."  
  
"No, you don't know," I put my hand on his face, to convey my sense of urgency. He had to understand just how much peril he was in. "It's too dangerous for you here, especially now that my father is gone. You've lost what little protection you had before."  
  
"What are you talking about?" I can see the confusion in his eyes. He is a man of great intelligence and has a curiosity a mile long. "I'm not leaving, not without you." Just look what he has gone through to find me, to solve the 'mystery' of my disappearance. It kills me not to share the secrets with him. "Ruby, we can get out of here. If it's dangerous here we can just hop on my bike and leave."  
  
"I can't." All my life, I've only wanted what everyone else on this planet had, what was normal, what was not meant to be. And here is this man; I can see that he would do anything for me; he would give that simplicity of life for me. He loves me enough to give his life, why can't I do the same? "You deserve a life better than this. You need your freedom, a life where danger isn't always around the corner."  
  
"Honey, I'm a cop." His hands were warm and calloused and felt so heavenly on my cheeks. His eyes were like darkness but so warm. The kiss was pure sweetness. "I love you. I want to marry you. I want a life with you, come what may."  
  
I believed him. "John, you have to understand. If you stay, life with me can be..."  
  
"Wonderful," he finished with a smile. "Life with you is always wonderful. I can't imagine my life without you. Tell me what's going on, Ruby. Tell me what I can do to help you cause I know there is trouble here for you. Let me help."  
  
The promise was there. "Do you trust me?"  
  
No hesitation, "With my soul."  
  
The decision is made, a promise given, a life doomed. But maybe, just maybe if luck was on our side, we can make the best of a bad situation. Father, if you're up there watching over me now, please help your little girl get through this. I love this man, just let me have him and I'll do anything.   
  
"Listen, I don't have a lot of time and this has to go off without a hitch." I pull myself away even though I longed to crawl into the bed with him and just shut the rest of the world out. How wonderful that would be, to be in a place where it was just me and him. But I need to think straight. "Time is short, we have to do this without the others knowing."  
  
"Ruby..."  
  
I shook my head and covered his mouth, knowing that he had many questions that needed to be answered. But time is our enemy and I cannot spare them to help him understand. "Just listen and do what I say."  
  
There was a moment when I thought he would refuse. He studied me with those dark eyes of his that seem to glow in the moonlight. He had the most beautiful eyes; I can get lost in them so easily. Then he nodded.  
  
"Tomorrow, there is to be a meeting in the hotel's banquet room at nine in the evening to choose a new chairman of the town brewery. I have to be there," I held up a finger when he opened his mouth to ask why. "My father was the former chairman, I am one of the heirs; I have to be there." He accepted this but still looked skeptical. I don't blame him. "At precisely seven forty-five, I need you to be at the church. Don't ask any questions, don't let anyone else in the world know. Just be there."  
  
He took both my hands, squeezing them tight. "I'll be there."  
  
I could feel my heart jump erratically. I was scared, scared to death for him. "I love you. I'll protect you."  
  
"I love you, too. And 'I'll' protect 'you'." His lips were on mine for a brief moment before I knew what had happened. It gave all the promises of tomorrow and all the dreams of today. He tasted like sandalwood and male essence. I could have stayed there in his arms forever.  
  
Heart pounding with love, fear, excitement, dread...I had to go, I couldn't stay any longer, not if this is to work.   
  
"I have to leave you now," standing, I felt the tug on my arm as if it tugged on my heart. "Please, I have to."  
  
"I'll be there tomorrow," he pledged again, his eyes wide and bright in the darkness. "I'll wait for you forever."  
  
I didn't want to leave; I didn't want to be parted from him. The tears came and I wished them away. "John, I need you to do something for me tonight."  
  
He looked up expectedly. "What?"  
  
"Take a shower."  
  
"What?"   
  
He looked so surprised and shocked that I almost laughed. I could smell myself on him and him on me. I couldn't let another know that I've been here. "Take a shower."  
  
"Ruby..." He began, thinking I was joking.   
  
"I'm seriously," I touched my hand to his cheek. "Promise me that you'll get in the shower the minute I leave."  
  
He sat there for a moment torn between laugher and confusion. "All right."  
  
"I love you," then left.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
I've set the wheels of events in motion; now I can only hope that it was the right thing to do. My teacher once told me that the Keeper is the key to every pack. They know the past to guide the future but they must never set the path for the future. And what did I go and do? Set into motion what could be the biggest blood bath in this pack's history.  
  
Am I even the least bit sorry for what I've done? Not really. There are certain things in life that has to be corrected. Granted, this is only my opinion but it has to count for something.  
  
Ah Willard, my good friend, your family certainly does know how to complicate the hell out of life. First Luke and now Ruby, they are going to set this pack on its ears and nothing will ever be the same again. 


	10. Chapter 10

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
Ruby's plan can very well backfire on us all. God, there were times in my life when all I want is to never have been born. And this could be considered one of those time. But looking at Ruby, dressed in white satin and lace, I can see that she probably wished this same at time. This was supposed to be the happiest day of any young woman's life. Yet there she was, sweating over every minute as the clock ticks away.   
  
"Sheriff," she looked at me with those big gray eyes. "Thank you for agreeing to do this and for keeping my secret."  
  
There was such a feeling of gratitude in her eyes that I had to smile. "Your father and I may not have always seen eye to eye on many subjects but I respected him and have always been fond of your." I tucked and veil back. "And it is my honor to give you away on your wedding day."  
  
"My father ways liked you, you know," she smiled, obviously trying to think of anything else other than what could go wrong. "You were one of the few people he truly respected in this town."  
  
"Well, that's good to hear," I replied before turning to the door. The footsteps were faint from down the hall but they were there nevertheless. The door opened a moment later and Vivian Cates' beautiful blonde head appeared. She was dressed in a jeweled black dress that made her seem younger than her years. "Good evening, V."  
  
"Good evening, Matt," she smiled, her eyes like jewels flashing in the night. Outwardly, she was calm and cool as if this evening's event was nothing out of the ordinary. But I can see the anxiety in her eyes, the fear she has for her child. Ruby was going to be fine, especially once we've pulled off her wedding to Kanin but Luke... he was a whole other story.   
  
"What's the word," Ruby asked, her eyes darting pass V's shoulder toward the open doorway.   
  
"He's on his way. Luke just heard his car from a block away." She moved into the room and shut the door. "I wanted to give you something before we get started."  
  
Ruby looked at her wearily. "What?"  
  
The smile that graced her face was easy to read. V and Ruby had a long history of distrust between them, no one ever tried to deny that. She pulled the diamond and silver chain on her waist off and clasped it around Ruby's. "Your father gave that to me when we were married. It once belonged to your grandmother. You mother wore it for her wedding day, I wore it on mine, now I think your father would have liked for you to wear it on yours."  
  
Ruby looked down on the diamond chain, studying it carefully. "It's beautiful," she looked up and stared at V for a moment as if nervous. "Thank you."  
  
V nodded. "I'll go wait for Kanin outside." She turned to leave, but before she could, Ruby reached out and hugged her. For a moment, Vivian's face reflected her surprise at the show of affection. Then her arms came around her stepdaughter and held her for a moment. When they parted, neither one appeared to know what to say. So, with a quick nod, Vivian headed out the door.  
  
Telling Ruby that I would return to escort her, I followed Vivian out. Catching up to her before she reached the front door of the church, I touched her arm. "That was very nice of you."  
  
"She and I may have our difference..."  
  
"But you respect her."  
  
She gave a gentle laugh. "You know me too well." Tucking her arm into mine, we walked in silence for a while. "Where is Sophia?"  
  
"I asked her to say with the priest," I replied, watching the sunset. "This will be a dangerous evening for you and Luke."  
  
"We will manage."  
  
"I would like to help."  
  
She glanced at me. "Because Sophia will be in danger as well."  
  
"No, I would help even if Sophia was not a factor." I turned to her so she could see the truth in my eyes. "As sheriff, there are certain influences I can impose. Luke is... a good kid where it counts."  
  
"But you don't think he is right for your daughter." She looked more than just amused. "How typical."  
  
"Only because I'm her father," I patted her hand. "No one will ever be good enough for my daughter, V. I can't help feeling that way."  
  
She smiled and watched the street. "He cared a lot for her."  
  
"I know," I sighed, any blind man can see that. Lucas Cates, for all his faults, truly does care for Sophia, I can't deny that. "I will protect my daughter any way I can."  
  
For some reason, V smiled. "I would expect nothing less."  
  
The roar of the motorcycle interrupted me before I could ask her what she meant. I watched as John Kanin pulled to a stop in front and sat there, staring at us on the stoops of the church.  
  
Vivian moved forward quickly. "Don't dally. And for god sakes, move your bike somewhere less conspicuous before someone sees you."   
  
If Kanin was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he did as told and moved his bake around back. Turning to V, "I'll got get Ruby. Move the others into place."  
  
She nodded, her face tense with pressure. "We will pull this off without a hitch."  
  
"I hope so," and left to continue my part in this most bizarre time.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Kanin's POV-  
  
My tongue left like someone had poured sawdust onto it. If someone asked me if I was nervous, I probably would have only been able to gulp and nod. Am I excited? You better believe it. Am I anxious? That would be putting it mildly. Scared? Oh yeah!  
  
Seeing Sheriff Donner and Vivian Cates at the church certainly didn't help my jumping stomach any. Ruby had said to come alone and tell no one. It wasn't easily; I wanted to shout my happiness from the rooftop of the highest building in town. But the fear I saw in my beloved's eyes gave me pause. She was scared to death of today. I'm sure it is not the idea of marriage to that frightened her it was something else. And from everything I've seen and heard in this town, I'm sure she has good reason to be.   
  
Parking the bike behind a tree, I ran a quick hand through my hair. I wish I could have worn a tux, or at the very least a suit, for my own wedding. But to ride around in formal wear would have no doubt cause too much talk. The last thing we want is talk around the town. So, it would seem that I'm going to my wedding in a polo shit, leather jacket and jeans. I suppose it could be worse; how, I'm not sure.   
  
Luke met me at the side door, his eyes darting back and forth, as if checking for a tail. He pulled me into the church with more strength than I suspected the boy of having. He glanced around once more before shutting the door firmly. Pulling me down the hallways, he began to rattle off things at me. "I've got a suit in the back waiting for you. It's not great, store bought cause it was quicker. I certainly hope you haven't gain or lost too much weight since the last time Ruby saw you since she gave me the measurements."  
  
I felt like I was in the middle of a whirlwind for a moment. Everything was happening fast but I know it was right. Normally I'd be questioning everything and anything but my future with the woman I love is at sake, questions and answers can come later, after the honeymoon. "Fifteen pounds since Ruby disappeared but I'm sure most of my clothes still fit pretty well."  
  
"Good," he pushed me into small room that appeared to be used as an office normally. He jerked my jacket off with a good tug. "We've got to hurry. The ceremony is going to have to be really short. We have less than an hour to do this, get you out of here, Ruby into a more suitable suit for the meeting and save everyone in town from having to choose between bad or worse."   
  
"Wait a minute, I can do this on my own." Having a guy helping me undress and dress again was a rather unnerving experience. But Luke was so distracted he didn't seem to care about my discomfort.  
  
"Hurry," he said flinging the pants at me without a second thought as he ripped the shoe box open. "I didn't have time to buy shoes, you'll have to wear one of my father's. Are you a size ten and a half?"  
  
"Close enough," pulling the pants up. "Size ten."  
  
"Good," Luke dropped the shoes on the ground. "You need socks?"  
  
"No," slipping my feet into the leather shoes while tucking my shirt into the paints. "Ruby here yet?"  
  
"An hour ago. It took some time for her to get dressed and put on make up. But she's ready now. She's been waiting for the last ten minutes."  
  
"Why didn't you all just call me? I was going crazy counting the seconds at the station."  
  
"Couldn't risk it," Luke gathered my discarded clothes and dropped them into a bag without thought. "You done yet?"  
  
The jacket settled on my shoulders a little too narrow but I couldn't complain. "Ready."  
  
"Let's go then."  
  
I don't remember much of the ceremony. The wedding was definitely a small and private affair with only Sherman Blackstone, Matthew Donner and Sophia Donner there other than the remaining Cates family. Sheriff Donner gave the bride away. I don't really remember what happened after I caught sight of Ruby coming toward me from down the aisle.   
  
She was an angel, my very own angel here on earth. Whatever god I pleased in this lifetime or last I don't know but I would gladly do it again if it meant I got to have this wonderful being in my life forever more. Her wedding dress as white, the veil made of the finest lace I've ever seen. But all that were just the external trapping. What made her so incredible beautiful was the hope and happiness I saw in her eyes as she came toward me.   
  
The ceremony was unfamiliar to me, but at the end of it, I said I do, she said she did, and our hands were bind with a red silk ribbon symbolizing our eternal bond or something to that effect. Four signatures later, Ruby Wilder Cates was Ruby Wilder Cates Kanin, my wife. 


	11. Chapter 11

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
Ruby was married... to a human. I had to shake my head at the irony. The first white wolf in god knows how long and she chose to marry outside the clan. Looking at her, I couldn't blame her. She was happy, I can see it in her eyes. They were both glowing, light starlight against a dark night sky. She stood there with him, exchanging vows that would bind them for a lifetime. Unlike the humans, we mate for life. There's no turning back now, not for either one of them.   
  
"John," Ruby's hand touched his cheek. "I love you."  
  
"And we just proved it in front of a priest and four other people," he replied, smiling wide enough to split his face in two. I envy them, I don't know think I've ever experienced that kind of heart-expanding joy.  
  
I didn't want to interrupt them, I really didn't. They should be allow some time alone to celebrate, but time is not on our side tonight. Phase one is completed, now we have to move onto phase two. Oh Willard, please watch over us as we walked into the den of the lion. "I'm sorry to break this up..."  
  
Ruby looked startled for a moment, her big gray eyes turning sad before the hint of steel hard determination returned. She was her father's daughter and no one could ever call Willard weak. Nodding, she lifted her skirt in one hand and grabbed Kanin's hand with the other. "John, I need you to change and do something for me."  
  
The confusion clouded the boy's handsome face. His head swiveled back and forth between us. I have to remember that the man is a cop, with all the instincts of one. His innate sense of intrigue was peeked. "Something I should know about?"  
  
"The night's not over yet, Romeo," I replied and led them toward the back where Ruby's evening dress was waiting for her. "Get changed into your normal clothes and meet us at the alter." I turned to Luke with a stern look. "Lucas, go keep an eye on things." My son was no fool; he hurried without questioning the order. "Matt..."  
  
"I have to tell Sophia," he replied quietly, watching his daughter from the corner of his eyes as she spoke quietly with the priest. "She needs to be prepared."  
  
I hurried Ruby into the changing room and shut the door behind me. By the time I turned around again, she was already pulling the garment bag from the charcoal gray silk I had brought for her. She stared at it for a moment. "Lovely."  
  
"I thought I was appropriate." Plus it matched her eyes and gave her a regal look that she will need tonight. She was powerful but she was young. "Your father always liked you in light colors. Said that it made you glow like a jewel."  
  
"Gray is not exactly light," she fingered the material again as she pulled the wedding dress off. "But it certainly is beautiful."  
  
"Ruby..."  
  
"I'll do my part," she said as she turned to me, dressed only in her slip and stockings. "And I'm grateful for your support in tonight's...events." And she was too; I could see it, smell it.   
  
"I do it not only for you but for Luke. We're family and we stick together." I wanted to make that perfectly clear to her. I did not need her in my debt, didn't want it. "Luke is my only child. I've lost Willard, I don't know what I'd do if..." I didn't want to think of it. I will do what it took to protect him.   
  
"I understand, and it will work," she pulled the slip off and stepped into the dress that flowed around her like liquid. Zipping up the back, she adjusted the cowl neck with a careless hand. "I'll have to tell John sooner or later."  
  
"Make it sooner," I put the makeup bag into the large trunk we had brought of the occasion. "Especially if things don't go as we planned tonight. He'll need to be on his toes." More now that ever.  
  
"I'll see to it," Ruby put her mother's wedding dress away carefully. "I'm glad that I got to wear it."  
  
She looked so pretty in it, almost like a clone of her mother. Regina Cates was a beautiful woman, and so was her daughter. "Would you have worn it had it been Tyler tonight?"  
  
Turning, she stared at me for a moment, "No."  
  
I understood perfectly. "I didn't think so either."  
  
We hurried outside, not wanting to dally too long. It was twenty to nine and we were almost ready. Kanin stood with a concerned Matt and a troubled Sophia at front pews. Father and daughter were holding hands. Sophia would not be joining us tonight, and that no doubt has Matt more than a little jumpy. Closing the distance, I watch as Ruby rushed to her new husband, who opened his arms to her without hesitation.   
  
"Mr. Kanin..." I began, thinking to relieve some of Matt's concerns.   
  
He gave me a laughing look, "Don't you think you should start calling me John?"  
  
I nodded in response. "Fine. John..." I paused for a second and scowled at him. "You are not allowed to call me Mom."  
  
Tongue in cheek, he nodded. "Yes, Madam."  
  
Suppressing my laughter, I shook my head at him. He is definitely going to be fun to have around. "Vivian will do." I turned to Ruby, who smiled in approval. "John, I need to ask a favor while we're at the board meeting."  
  
Kanin stared for a moment, then turned to Ruby. She shook her head. "You can't come. I need you to stay quiet and hidden for a little while, especially while I go to this meeting." There was questions in his eyes, questions that she won't be able to answer tonight. "Trust me. I do it for us." It took a moment but he nodded his agreement. She turned to me. "What is it that you want him to do?"  
  
"Sophia needs protection," I nodded toward the girl, who watched with wide eyes that were too wise for her age. "John, we'd be very grateful if you took Sophia and hid for a bit."  
  
Sophia turned to her father, who was looking both surprised and relieved. "Dad..."  
  
"I'm sorry, honey, but you can't come either." He kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. I could see the thousand worries that he felt passing before his eyes. "I need you to stay safe."  
  
She shook her head, eyes filled with fear. Sophia was smart; she knew what was coming. "Daddy, I love you."  
  
"I love you too sweetie," his eyes glowed for a moment, faced away from Kanin. Anyone that says mother wolves were the fiercest animals when protecting their young, haven't seen Matthew Donner with his only child. "I won't let anyone hurt you." He blinked and the glow was gone. Turning to Kanin, "Can you protect her until I come back?"  
  
John Kanin looked surprised for a moment. "You've got shares in the brewery as well?"  
  
"All the old family here does," he answered before pulling away from Sophia. He reached around back and pulled a small handgun out. "Honey..."  
  
Kanin eyed the gun cautiously. "Does she know to use that thing?"  
  
Sophia took the gun, flipped the chamber open to check for a full load, flipped it back and spun the chambers with an expert hand. Matt taught his daughter well.  
  
Kanin shook his head. "Right." He chuckled and rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Why do I bother asking?"  
  
"You'll protect her?" Donner asked again. A father's anxiety was not pretty to watch.   
  
"Yeah, I'll protect her," his hands slipped into his jacket, probably to check in weapon. "The question is who am I protecting her from?"  
  
"You'll know it when you see them," Donner answered before giving his daughter's shoulders a squeeze.   
  
"Hey," Lucas voice called from the church's front door. "I've got the car out front. Time to go." His eyes sought Sophia's and I realized with a bittersweet feeling that my son was in love.   
  
Turning, I watch Sophia exchange silent promises with him before turning back to her father. "Be careful, Daddy."  
  
"I will," he kissed her forehead once more and turned to me. "I'll go around back and take my car."  
  
"It would be wiser," I replied, motioning for Ruby to follow. "Let's go."  
  
The battle was ahead and I can only hope the maneuvering of the last two days would pay off. I may have always stayed within the shadow of my late husband, but as the alpha female of the clan, I'm not without some influences. Tonight, I'm about to put my power to the test. Willard, wherever you are, I pray that you will give me the strength to save our family.  
  
TBC... 


	12. Chapter 12

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
The helmet was a little small but I wasn't complaining. The wind against my face as the motorcycle roared through town did much to calm my nerves. I was scared; there was no denying that. I was more than scared; I was terrified.   
  
Forget the fact that my father and quasi-boyfriend may be walking into their deaths tonight, forget the fact that half this town will be at war by midnight depending on who the next Alpha is, we can even forget the fact that I'm sitting on a bike going eighty miles per hour around a bend that could kill me.... You know what's got me worried the most? Me.  
  
The night no longer seemed like night anymore. You know how when you go to the movies, the scenes nighttimes scenes were always just clean enough for you to see everything that's going on, like the killer coming up behind the helplessly pathetic heroine that can't hear a mac track coming up from down the street with is horns blazing. Well, take that scene, put a big old spotlight on it and you might be close to what I'm seeing now.   
  
Luke was right. Everything is so much more intense when you're on the brink. The night was sharp with images and sounds. The cold was filled with fragrances that were indescribable. It was like the air was alive.  
  
"You all right, back there?" Kanin asked over his shoulder as he raced down the road. There was something about the way he drove that made me just a tad bit nervous. Maybe it had something to do with the intensity in which was doing everything at the moment.   
  
"Just peachy," I yelled back against the wind. "You think you might want to slow down to mach 3 or something? I think we just passed a concord." He turned his head to look at me, which only made me more nervous. "EYES ON THE ROAD! EYES ON THE ROAD!"  
  
He grinned and gunned the engine of his bike, lifting the vehicle onto its hind wheels.   
  
I think I screamed but I can't be sure of that. The thrill and chill of the moment blanked out my mind. For that half a minute where I thought I was flying; I forgot all my troubles. It was the first time in several days now where I was not occupied with thoughts of doom, gloom and death. Holding on tight, I let Kanin race down the highway at top speed.  
  
When we arrived at his little cabin out in the middle of nowhere, he grinned and pulled off his helmet. "Not the greatest hiding place, but I honestly don't know where else to go this time of night that isn't going to make us stick out like a sore."  
  
"It's fine," I walked up the door, touching the small handgun in my jacket pocket. There was a strong scent of pine, oak and man. Kanin really made this place his in such a short time. "I don't think anyone would be looking for me here."  
  
He unlocked the door and stepped in first. For a second, I thought it was rather ungentlemanly of him to do so, but then I realized he was checking to make sure it was safe. I had forgotten for a moment that he was a cop. Manner or not, his first priority was to secure the premises. Dad use to do that when I was a kid, check everything first.  
  
"So," he shut the door and dropped his keys on a hook. "Think it'll be safe for us to turn on a light?"  
  
"Do we have to?" I asked, moving slowly into the living room. It was dark, with only the full moon peeking though the curtains to illuminate the place. "I think it may be better if we leave them off."  
  
"Am I allowed to ask what the big secret it?" Kanin murmured as he moved about with ease, picking up mugs and soda from the cabinets. "Or is this another something that you're not going to tell me?"  
  
"You're going to learn everything soon enough," I asked, thanking him with a nod for the carbonated beverage. "But I think it would be better if Ruby be the one to..." I jumped as something crashed and rolled.  
  
Kanin's turned his head, eyes reflecting the moonlight giving them almost a golden glow, and listened to the sounds of the night that once again dropped over the place. "Raccoon or something, tipped over a trash can. Probably looking for food. "  
  
I nodded in agreement, catching the sound of small-clawed feet on foil. "Sounds like they found something."  
  
"Yeah," he grinned, turning toward the room at the back of the house. "I'm going to get the better hardware. Stay here and don't go near the windows." He walked away without any trouble in the darkness.  
  
As I continued to listen to the sound of the annoying animal searching through trash, it hit me. Kanin's cabin was a good half a block from the end of the town, just on the out skirt of the woods. His nearest neighbor, if I remembered correctly, was a good ten-minute walk from here. Yet he heard and knew that an animal had knocked over trash and was searching through them.  
  
Now, normally, I would chalk it up to good guessing or even good detective work considering what he does for a living. But this would be the second them he's exhibited traits that were... hum... how should I put this? Traits that were too much like 'them.'   
  
Maybe being around the others was somehow effecting him, but that would just be a really lame theory and totally beneath me. But how can I even begin to explain this?   
  
Not sure and definitely wanting to know, I whispered as quietly as I could, "Kanin?"  
  
"What?" came the reply from the back.   
  
I swallowed hard. He should not have been able to hear that. There was no way he could have...  
  
"Sophia?"  
  
"Yeah?" I answered, eyes on the doorway.  
  
"You called me, what did you need," he asked as he came out again with a fully loaded shotgun in one hand and rather interesting looking handgun in the other. "Don't worry, the safety is on."  
  
"That's good to hear," not sure what else to say.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, eyeing me cautiously. "You're acting kind of weird suddenly.  
  
"Really?" I wanted to swallow my tongue and asked all sorts of questions but nothing came. This made no sense to me. No one outside the pack could possibly have that ability to...to... be so animal like. Yet... "I can't imagine why?"  
  
Am I scared now? Oh yeah.   
  
God, I wish Luke was here.   
  
TBC... 


	13. Chapter 13

-Luke's POV-  
  
The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: This story picks up some where after the first five episode on the show.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
I wish Sophia were here. Just having her around would make this a whole lot easier to bear. She could always seem to make things better just by being. It was strange how I've come to need that in the past few days. They say that death changes you, they weren't kidding.  
  
Poor Sophia, look at all the trouble I have caused in your life. I really do have to wonder why I was so stupid to have placed her in harms way like this. Of course, as long as she doesn't flip, she's still got a chance to making through this with all her limbs attached. Then again, Ruby did just marry a human.   
  
Man, that is just like a trip and a half. I part of me is still shocked that Ruby went through with it. Don't get me wrong; I don't doubt her love for Kanin. But the kind of risk she's taking to be with this guy.... I wonder if I can be that strong.   
  
"Don't slouch, Lucas." My mother was frowning at me with displeasure. That's nothing new. But there was something glowing in her eyes tonight. Just because I'm the Alpha's kid, they think I don't know what they say about my mom behind my back. Ice Queen, that's what they call her when they think I'm not listening. I can see the absolute fear in her eyes, fear for me. Yeah, I know she loves me, every kid knows that their parents love them, but you really don't 'know' until you look in their eyes and see that they are willing to do anything, and I do mean 'anything,' to protect you. "This is not the time fo ryou to show that you are a mere boy."  
  
Normally, I would probably have a snappy comeback. But tonight, with her eyes dark shielded from everyone but me, I couldn't. "Yes, Madam."  
  
"And don't let them rattle," she advised her, head high, eyes straight ahead. "Never let the enemy know you are afraid."  
  
"Are you?" I had to ask.  
  
"Never more so than now," she murmured before touching my arm. "Luke, if this doesn't work, I want you to run."  
  
"What?" that certainly startled me. Running had never been an option before. No one leaves Wolf Lake, no one.   
  
"You wouldn't be the first," she smiled ironically. "And I'm sure you won't be the last either, no matter what the others tell you. You and Ruby get out if this fails, you understand me? Don't look back, just run."  
  
"What about you, Mom?"  
  
"Don't worry about me, just run." She turned and walked away, playing nice with the salivating dogs that hunt the banquet hall tonight.  
  
I stood there unable to move. It wasn't what she said or the way she said, so causal and unconcerned; it was what she didn't say that bothered me. She didn't say a damn thing. Without being a mind reader, I knew that my mom would do anything to let me escape. What that would entail is anyone's guess.   
  
"If one more guy tries to pretend that they're not interested in an alliance, I think I'll hurl," Ruby picked up the champagne and down it with a tip of her hand. "I want to go home."  
  
"Me too," I answered, picking up the bottle to refill her glass. "How are you holding up?"  
  
"Better than you, I'm guessing." She grinned at me.   
  
"Anyone guessed yet?"  
  
"No," she rolled her big gray eyes and laughed, almost cruelly. "Everyone has been painfully successful in avoiding the subject of my wedding ring. They just don't want to see it."   
  
"Isn't that a good thing at the moment?" I asked, hoping that she understood my delight in that no one has yet to figure things out completely. They're probably all wondering which of the contenders managed to snag themselves the white wolf while the others weren't looking.  
  
"For the moment," she conceded and looked around. "Luke?"  
  
"Yeah?" watching Tyler Creed make friendly with his opponent. Man, I could almost see their thoughts of tearing each other's throats out. "Ruby?" She was watching group of Creed's groupies by the doors.   
  
"If this goes south on us, you get to John and Sophia and get the hell out of town."   
  
Okay, why is it that both women in my family feel the need to protect me? With dad gone, aren't I the man of the house? "I'm not leaving you and Mom here while I turn tail and hide."  
  
"I'm not asking you to," she turned to me, her eyes filled with knowledge. "I'm asking you to get my husband and your girlfriend out of town before someone decides to do them in. I do not want John used as a weapon against me when the fighting starts."  
  
It was logical; Ruby loves John Kanin more than anything else in this world. "And what will happen to you and Mom?"  
  
"V and I know what needs to be done here." She sled her eyes toward me and nodded her head toward Donner. "The Sheriff knows that if anything happens to him, you'd take care of Sophia."  
  
"Does he?" I almost laugh at that. The ironies of life never cease to amaze me. "A month ago he couldn't wait to lock his fair daughter away in a tower, as far from me as he could."  
  
She grinned and raised her glass at me. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  
  
"Thanks a lot," I'm glad to see she could at least retain some of her sense of humor, even though the others were just dying to break us.   
  
"Hey, you're looking at the girl that almost married Tyler Creed to protect the man she loves. If that's not desperation, I don't know what is."  
  
I had to grant her that.   
  
The wolves were dressed in some pretty fancy sheepskin tonight. Everyone was out in his or her finest, each hoping to catch the glory of what is to come. The women were cooing and mewing, hoping to keep their stations in life comfortable and well connected. The men were busy allying themselves to those they think will be coming into power now that my father was gone. And for those few individuals that have chances of becoming the next leader of the pack, they were here to pull the votes.   
  
Yes, you heard right, Donner and Blackstone's idea. We're going to be civilized this time around and choose the democratic way. There were plenty of grumbling over it but hey, everyone figures that we could always go back to battle to the death ways if this doesn't work out.  
  
Too many eyes on me, makes me want to throw my head back and howl before running out of here. But no, I'm needed here tonight, among my enemies, any one of whom could have killed my father.   
  
Wish Sophia was here. At least then, I wouldn't feel so alone.   
  
"Settle down, people. Settle down!" Blackstone is going to play the mediator tonight. Being the Keeper, he is considered neutral. I have to wonder about that though. He seems pretty chummy with the sheriff. Some would say too friendly, may sway the votes. But then, since this would definitely work to our advantage, I'm certainly not going to say anything.   
  
"Sit by me, Luke," Ruby pulled the chair out and folded herself into the seat, ignoring the stares she was receiving. This is the first pack meeting she's been to in over three years now, and now at the eve of the most important meeting this century, she shows up in full regalia. The sight of her probably gave many of the women pause.   
  
I pulled a chair out for my mom first - I was raised to be a gentleman - and then took a seat between the two women in my life that would do anything for me. They were going to play tonight and I was going to be the reason why. And as much as I wish Sophia were here, where I can keep an eye on her, I knew that she was safer with Kanin. At least my sister's human husband can't do much more than talk her to death.   
  
"Okay people," Blackstone looked astonishingly calm for a man that was about to conduct the biggest game of his life. "Let's get this show on the road. We're all here for a purpose, so lets hop to it so I can go home and jump in the Jacuzzi." He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "Okay, the floor is open for nominations. And remember, seconds are needed for a nominee to make it to the ballot box."  
  
"I nominate, Tyler Creed," Matthew Juscur yelled out loud, his eyes bright on the verge of a change. He was going to the edge with excitement making me wonder what drugs he was on.   
  
Ruby rolled her eyed discreetly. "Like that's a big surprise."  
  
"I second it," Franklin Curser murmured. He looked none too happy.   
  
"Okay now," Mr. Blackstone was grinning ear to year, no doubt from some private joke only he knows. The man has so many secrets. The Keeper isn't just the Keeper of the Lore, but of all the secrets that have threaded through this pack for centuries now. I wondered what he knew about me. "Mr. Tyler Creed is on the ballot. Anyone else?"  
  
And the nomination began in earnest with every which person pulling their connections. As it commotion continued, I watched Donner. The man looked darkly disappointed as each name was added to the growing list of candidates. He knew as well, if not better, than anyone else in the room what is going to happen if any of these bozos end up as Alpha of the clan. If they didn't drive the whole pack into hiding with their pointless games, they were going to ruin us by going to war with other packs for territory rights. My dad had ways been careful to balance the growth of the pack with the safety of it. Donner's got another point he's got to be careful of, his daughter. Any one of these guys would do Sophia in at first chance. I can only imagine what was going through his mind.   
  
"Okay, okay..." Where Mr. Blackstone for the gavel from is anyone's guess. But he was currently pounding the things hard on the podium. "Settle down, settle down. You all the nice list of names up here. So now, I'm going to ask if there is any last minute entry that needs to come in before I close the floor for nominations." Was it me or did he look pointedly at my mother? "Going once, going twice..."  
  
"I have a nomination," my mother finally piped up, calm as cucumber. I glanced at my sister, she didn't look even the least bit worried, as if she expected my mother to pull this on the last possible minute. And maybe she did.   
  
"I think your boy is a little too young for this," Daniel Rainbird laughed, his eyes on me. There was nothing amusing about the way he was daring me to react. I merely smiled at him.   
  
My mother, cold bitch that they call her, turned her eyes toward the man in that glacier manner she employed when annoyed. She dismissed him without a slight tilt of her chin. "I nominate Matthew Donner."  
  
The collective gasp was followed by the utter silence. I don't think anyone was quite a shocked at Sheriff Donner. With his not having flipped in over sixteen years, no one expected him to run.   
  
Ruby smiled, I think she secretly enjoyed the reaction, even if her future with Kanin wasn't depending on it. "I second the nomination."  
  
The White Wolf has shown her hand and picked a side. Now let the chips fall where they may. The show was just getting started.  
  
TBC....  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Is any one buying this story or is it so far out there that you are just all laughing your ass off? 


	14. Chapter 14

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
The look on Matt's face was priceless. I could have laughed if the situation weren't so serious. I knew that shock of the nomination would cause a stir, one that I was more than prepared to handle, but when Ruby voiced her support, that's when the fur started to fly.   
  
I never liked Gerald Carter much and I like him even less now. "This is insanity! He cannot be Alpha!"   
  
"And why is that?" Joshua Harned was one of the few people in town that I know of that has forever been loyal to Matthew. May have something to do with the fact that Matt saved his life back during the uproar after Willard's father passed away. Matt, though not a contender, had been one of the few that tried to keep the peace then. "He's still part of the pack."   
  
Carter sneered. "He hasn't been part of this pack since he married that..."  
  
"Watch it!" Matt's eyes warned him. Everyone knew where that sore point was and no one has ever touched on it before. It was moments like this that Matt showed his true potential.   
  
Even Carter knew better and kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, Tyler Creed did not have the wisdom of the old and his eager, smart-mouth spouted off. "For the sake of argument and making this brief, let's just say that he is as part of the pack as the rest of us here are, he's far too advance to lead the pack now."  
  
All the planning and manipulations of strings and loyalties in the past two days was coming to head now. "He has the wisdom that comes from having been in the pack, seeing the workings here, and living through some of the more trying times. That comes from experience. You? You're just a puppy. You won't know good leadership if it came up and bit you on the tail." Mac Kensen didn't want to lead, he just wanted a quiet life with his wife and six kids, and he knew which horse to back for that.   
  
Tyler didn't leap, his best pal Kris did. Donner caught the boy at mid-leap and mid-transformation by the scuff of his neck, as everyone jumped to their feet, and flung him into the corner of the room. Turning about, he faced a dozen people in mid-transformation. "There will be no fighting here tonight."  
  
Kris literally whimpered and licked his wounds, big gray eyes watching Matt carefully. The others backed off slowly, reverting to human form as quickly as they can trying not to catch Matt's eyes in the process.   
  
"Do you hear me?" Matt asked the room at large, his eyes giving off just enough off enough light to have his intensions know. "There will be no blood shed here, tonight."   
  
Interesting, I wonder how Matt was planning on guaranteeing that? With a little blood shed perhaps? But maybe that wouldn't be necessary. The ease is which he handled Kris without breaking a sweat was not lost on those gathered here. I can see the wheels turning in the minds of many, they were seeing the command that comes to Matthew Donner so naturally, simply because he is who he is. A born leader.   
  
"Okay, okay, everybody just hold your horses and calm down," Sherman was having a field day with this one, I can tell. The twinkle in his eyes indicated his being much amused by all this. "Vivan Cates has offered her nomination and Ruby Cates has second the nominations. Hello there, Ruby, nice to have you back with us again." He waved as if having seen her for the first time in months.   
  
Ruby smiled serenely, here eyes fluttering about the room at perfect ease. She was playing her part well.   
  
"Okay, then," Sherman clapped his hands together and grinned like a big boy. "I'm closing the nominations, unless there are other surprises?" He looked around almost hopeful. "Going once, going twice...."  
  
"Wait!" Matt Donner called out, his brows furrowed with concern and his eyes reflecting his being deep in thought.   
  
I held my breath, as did many others if I am correct. We knew there would be a chance, a chance that Matt wouldn't accept the nomination, a chance that he would pull out. Anyone that knew him knew that he wasn't one to seek glory or power, he is a man of peace. But fate, and me, have always sought him out.   
  
"Donner? Sheriff?" Though his smile was still in tact, Sherman's eyes was not happy at all.   
  
For a moment, I could see the struggle there. His need for a life that does not entail the burdens of leadership verses his need to protect his little girl. A choice I know that he never wanted to make. But how can he not see how well this would all work both for him and the pack? As Alpha, he can protect his young. And as leader, he can assure that fools like Tyler Creed and Gerald Carter did not expose our people to the outside world.   
  
"Yo, Donner!" Sherman called out again.  
  
He looked up and for a moment, I thought he would refuse. "Never mind, it was nothing."  
  
Am I mistaken or did Sherman look relieved? "Okay, going three times... and the floor is closed!"  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
Damn, for a moment there, I thought that lug head was going to spoil it all. Sheesh, talk about being stubborn as a mule. Matthew Donner nearly gave V and me a heart attack there for a moment, all the careful planning....Well, what's done is done.  
  
"Okay, let's cast our votes and pick ourselves a new sacrificial lamb... er...I mean, a new sacred leader." I grinned big for the crowd. Though in many respects, I wasn't incorrect the first time around. The powers that come from being an Alpha is enormous, but so are the burdens that come with it.  
  
You'd think after a couple of hundred years, people would start catching onto the fact that being head of anything has its hazards. Just look at Louis the... um...whichever one got his head chopped off. The young ones enjoy the power that comes with the position, the older ones likes the status of the position, but no body that's not been in the position knows what it is really about. But Matt understood, he understood it too well. Like being the Sheriff of the town, it carries with it many horrors and difficulties.   
  
Sixteen years ago, he turned away fro it cause he could. Now he's got a daughter to protect. What choices does he have?"  
  
For most of the pack, the vote was easy. It was for those few individuals that had no real loyalties to any particular candidate that we must be careful of. Like any political arena, the swing votes were the key.   
  
And won't you know it, the swing votes threw almost everything off. "We have a tie!"  
  
"WHAT?" Tyler Creed, the kid with a bad attitude. Oh I hate to think what's going to happen to the pack should he take control. No control, whatsoever. "What do you mean there's a tie?!?"  
  
"Mr. Creed," I answered patiently. I swear, he's worse that Luke and his bunch sometimes. "When I say there is a tie, that means that two of the candidates have the exact same amount of votes. That is the meaning of a tie."   
  
The exasperation on his face almost made me chuckle. I just love playing with the idiots in this town, Tyler Creed being at the head of that class. They make my life so much more interesting. And if I had more time, I'd bait him so more. But since I don't, what with having to record all the proceedings and such, it'll have to wait for another time.   
  
"I demand a recount!" Gerald Carter yelled, his face so red that for a second, I was afraid that he was going to pop.  
  
"Sit down, Jerry," I waved him down. "The number of votes you pulled in would embarrass the a stripper at a nude beach." Vivian looked at me and frowned. I shrugged.   
  
"Who are the two still running?" Mrs. Muir asked, her delicate blue veined hands folded in her lap. She wasn't much to look at now, wrinkled and tired from a life that was not always kind to her, but she was still one of the best healers around.   
  
If I were some character on one of those TV shows, I'd probably rub by hands together in glee. "Drum roll please," pounding the edge of my fingers against the podium and ignoring the impatient glares from Vivian, Ruby and some notable others, except for Donner, now seemed to be glancing all too often at the clock on the wall. "Mr. Tyler Creed..." the look in Ruby's eyes was undeniably fear, "and our very own Sheriff Matthew Donner."  
  
All eyes were on Donner now and he looked none too happy about it. A part of me knew that he wanted to stop the insanity, to pull himself out of the race. But even he could see what could happen if he did. Kanin was as good as dead. Luke Cates would be in for the fight of his life, assuming he survives the night. And Sophia... may suffer the same fate as her dear mother. No, our dear Matthew knew where his priorities are.  
  
"Let's vote already!" Creed shouted, his eyes glowing dangerously. No control whatsoever.   
  
I have to wonder if Tyler Creed would have been so eager to call for the votes that night had he known what the outcome would be. I think not.  
  
TBC....  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Thanks to everyone that reviewed this story. I'll try to wrap it up soon. 


	15. Chapter 15

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you're get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it's pretty easy to pick up once you start.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
I heard the rumbling of the motor about a mile off the road before it registered in my mind what it was. A part of me hoped beyond hope that it was my dad coming to get me. But then, he didn't know I was hiding at Kanin's cabin. Sure it would be logical to think that, given that he had sent me off with Kanin, but still, who would have thought that Kanin would use reverse logic.  
  
"I figure that if anyone knew that you were with me, they'd think that we'd come here," he had explained logically as he loaded his semi-automatic. Where the man got the big-ass gun was beyond me. "Then they think that I would never do something as obvious as go to the one place they know to look for me. So they'd probably end up going elsewhere." He pushed the curtain aside with the barrel of the gun and glanced at the dark, moonlit night. "Then again, we shouldn't be too reliant on logic when our lives are at stake."  
  
That had been over an hour before. I stood there, watching the streets and listening as the rumbling came closer. The palms of my hands itched and all the hair on my scalp seemed to stand on ends. Every one of my senses seemed to be on high alert, as if watching for something to happen. And something is going to happen tonight, I can feel it.   
  
"Kanin?" I whispered into the darkness. He had gone toward the back to watch the woods.   
  
"What?" came the reply. It still unnerved me to know that he can hear me from so far away.  
  
"Do you hear that?"  
  
There was a pause. "Truck down the road. Why?"  
  
"It's coming here."  
  
"I know," he melted out from the shadows and appeared so suddenly and silently besides me that I almost jumped. "Does your father..."  
  
"Drive a beat up old truck that sounds like it's on its last lag? No. He drives a 2001 4runner." I could see his eyes in the darkness; they weren't squinting for sight or bright like Dad's is when in dim light. Yet, there was something about the way he looked. I shuddered, suddenly feeling cold from the inside. "Should we stay or should we run?"  
  
"Run where?" he asked, dryly. "This little town of yours is surrounded on all four sides by wood and water. We would get hopelessly lost if we go by wood. And we meet up with whoever is headed this way if we go by land. And I'm not jumping off a cliff into rushing waters of any reason." He turned to offer a smile of reassurance but froze. "Oh my god."  
  
"What?" I asked, turning to see the empty doorway. With all my senses so heightened, I didn't think anything could sneak up on me. Well, except maybe him. "Don't scare me like that!" swatting him with my hand. But he continued to stare at me. "What?"  
  
There was something in the way he stood there, stock still, that created a ball of ice in the pit of my stomach. "Sophia, your eyes... they're.... They're glowing."  
  
I held my breath. He looked as if he was seeing a ghost and I honestly couldn't blame him. Ruby flipped at fourteen and has since mastered her transformation to finely honed control; she'd have to if she hoped to survive in the world of humans. I doubt even in the heat of passion, she'd lose control the way I've seen the some of the kids do at the raves. John Kanin obviously has never seen the wolven eyes before.   
  
And damn it, I hate the fact that he's seeing it now, on me. Of all the times to lose control!  
  
I turned away quickly, both embarrassed and frightened.   
  
"Sophia," he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him, pulling my hands away from my face. "What is happening to you?"  
  
I was scared, too damn scared to think straight. The pores of my body seemed to have expanded and the hairs stood on end as I felt my skin tingle with something unidentifiable. I've felt it before, in the middle of night when I wake to find the whole world spinning and my eyes glowing with my father's heritage.   
  
"No!" Pushing Kanin away, I rushed to my feet and out the door.   
  
"Sophia, wait! Sophia!" I had to get away, away from him. Away from everyone.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Kanin's POV-  
  
The back of my head hit the table and for a moment, my vision swam. I heard the scraping of feet and knew that she was about to bolt. "Sophia, wait! Sophia," the screen door slammed and I knew she had fled.   
  
It took a moment for my head to clear. For such a small delicate little thing, she certainly was strong. But I've long since stop underestimating people; call it a survival instinct that cops learn, usually the hard way. But then again, I didn't know that people's eyes could glow like lantern light either.   
  
I stood on the porch, eyes scanning the roads when it hit me that she wouldn't have taken the road. Turning about, I saw with some dismay at the dark woods that I thought were rather picturesque when I took the place. Now, it was like something out of a bad movie.   
  
I ran inside and grabbed the 9mm from the table and froze when my hand touched the 10 gage. Someone had just stepped into the house. I listened closely, not wanting to give my position away. From the front door, it was unlikely someone has seen me yet.   
  
"You see her?" the rough voice asked then stopped. "You smell something?"  
  
"Shit, he's still in the house." I heard the boots on the floorboard a moment before I fired the gun into the doorway.   
  
Whoever it was caught the bullet in the shoulder while I dove across the room and out the backdoor.   
  
"Don't let him get away!" I wasn't about to wait around for those goons to catch up to me. If I hadn't been prepared to go into the woods after Sophia earlier, I sure the hell am now.   
  
You know how in the movies, the woods are usually lit up bright as day; well that's how the woods look to me now. And on any other day, I'd probably be wondering why the full moon was so unbelievably bright. But right now, I can only thank the heavens that it was so I can see where the hell I was going without tripping over every bush and branch there was. Not that there was any guarantees that I wouldn't get hopelessly lost since I don't know where I was going, only that it wasn't where I had been two minutes before.  
  
It wasn't too long before I knew that I was in serious trouble. It was night, I had no equipment, I was lost and I lost Sophia. Great, Donner is really going to trust me now!  
  
I turned and took a moment to see if I can reposition myself. That's when I heard it. If I had the energy, I would have roared in frustration. Not only do I have what sounded like two bumbling hit men after me, I'm also lost in the woods with wild and possible large animals.   
  
Standing here, I listened for a moment, all the training in the marines and police academy coming back to me all in a rush. My senses were wide open to receive information that could possibly save my life. Thank goodness I had always been pretty damn good at this sort of thing. The night air shifted, bringing with it the smell of water, woods and warm furry bodies. Definitely four-footed creatures, I could hear the hide legs being lifted even as the front paws were setting down.   
  
And they were approaching fast!   
  
Not bothering to stand around and greet the newcomers to this merry chase, I took off. Branching scratching face and arms, legs aching to stop for a break, and lungs trying force enough oxygen into them to keep me from keeling over, I knew that I couldn't keep up this neck breaking speed for long, especially given the traps that were in the woods.   
  
I sometimes think that I jinx myself on purpose. Just as I finish the thought of there being traps, one cramped its steely jaws around my ankle. I pitched forward soundlessly, in too much pain to holler.   
  
Turning around, I saw the teeth of the trap had ripped open the jeans and skin around my ankle, drawing blood. Damn it, the smell of blood was sure to draw more animals here.   
  
And of course, as if on cue, a large gray wolf appeared from between two trees. Had it been human, there would be no doubt of its thoughts. Pure and unadulterated hatred gleamed though its big brown eyes. Oh great, now I was in some serious trouble. I wonder what god I had angered to be in this situation twice in one lifetime.   
  
Now I can only hope that my guardian white wolf was around to save me again. But I knew I had no such luck.   
  
The gray wolf took a leap going for my throat just I remembered that I still had my 9mm in my hand. Pulling my arm up to fire, I was forestalled by a large brown wolf appearing somewhere from over my left shoulder. The two animals collided in mid air, jaws clamping shut viciously on each other.   
  
I backed away as quickly as I could, dragging the metal jaws of death with me. It was then that I realized that I wasn't alone. Another wolf, this one with gleaming gray eyes, stood not a foot away from my right, as if standing guard. A third came around from behind to stand before me, its paws delicately stepping over my prone legs. It too seemed to be protecting me, like bodyguards.   
  
Turning, I watched as the big gray and brown one circled one another, teeth bared and snapping dangerously close to each other. The gray made another attempt but was knocked into a tree by the brown, who butted its head against the gray's side like a battering ram against a wooden door. The gray went down and stayed down.  
  
It was the most... 'interesting' behavior I've ever seen. The brown wolf turned and watched me for a second before leaping out of sight. For a moment, I laid there stunned as the two others wolves took themselves off as well.   
  
Shaking myself, I went to work on the steel trap still on my leg. Closing my hands around the teeth of the trap, I pulled until it gave enough for me to pull my leg out. The blood soaked through the pants and I groaned that I was going to be a walking target for every creature in the woods now.   
  
"John!" I turned to the sound so Ruby's voice, anxious and concern. "JOHN!"  
  
"I'm here!" I called back; hoping that whoever was after me has either gone or is out of earshot. After all, I could hardly want to attention dangerous to my new wife. Wife, I still can't quite comprehend that fact that Ruby married me.   
  
"John!" Ruby fell to her knees beside me, her arms closing around my neck before I could get another word out. "Are you all right?"   
  
"Oh peachy," I leaned back enough to begin undoing my shirt, I was going to need a temporary bandage for my leg. "That's a very pretty dress."  
  
"Thank you," she replied absentmindedly. "You look like hell."  
  
"Thank you," I smiled and ripped the sleeves off. "Where is Donner?"  
  
"Right here," Donner appeared, his dinner jacket open and his eyes searching the woods around. "Where's my daughter?"  
  
"Gone," I replied, with a sigh. "I don't know what happened. The truck was coming, we both heard it. She got scared and turned to me for help." I looked at Donner, noting that the man was not carrying a gun out here. "Did you know your daughter has eyes that glow?"  
  
Donner's gaze jerked down toward me. "Glow?"   
  
"Yeah, like lanterns." Somehow I had expected him to be surprised by that. But a part of me wasn't at the least surprised that he wasn't reacting the way I wanted him to. This town gets weirder and weirder by the minute. "And then she bolted out the door. That's when the two men came into my house and...oh I shot one of them in the shoulder before getting the hell out of there too."  
  
"I know, we found him bleeding to death in your kitchen." Donner turned as Luke and Vivian Cates came through the woods. Hell, they were making so much noise that a deaf man would have heard them. "I've cuffed him to your sink. He's not going anywhere."  
  
Sherman Blackstone came though the woods with a grin on his face and his eyes bright with excitement. The man always looked like he had a great secret that he was keeping to himself and laughing at all us fools that knew nothing of it. I really hate that about him. He glanced at me and raised one brow with surprise inquiry. "What happened here?"  
  
Donner pointed to the trap. "And Sophia took off into the woods."  
  
"Yeah, with glowing eyes," I added just to see their reaction.  
  
Vivian Cates looked at Donner, startled but not terribly surprise. It was Luke's reaction that was the most interesting. His face practically lit up like a Christmas tree, you'd think I just told the kid that he won a million dollars. Luke didn't wait around for anyone to say anything before taking off into the woods.   
  
"Where is he going?" I asked Ruby, who laughed softly and shook her head.   
  
"After Sophia is my guess," she replied, helping me bind the wound. "We have to get you out of here and..." she stopped as I hissed in pain. The wound was deeper than I thought. "John, are you...." She stared at me, just stood there stock still and stared, her jaws slack and eyes wide in stunned disbelief.  
  
"What?" It was surprised by the way she was just simply staring at me as if she's never seen me before. "Ruby, what is it?"  
  
"Oh god," Donner cursed fluently in a language that I didn't recognize as he too stared at me. "Sherman!"  
  
Blackstone laughed as Vivian too gawked in complete incredulity. I was beginning to get the real nervous reaction of squirming as they all stared with Blackstone laughing like a loon in the back.  
  
"You knew!" Donner finally turned and pointed an accusing finger at Blackstone. Since I was still in the dark about this whole thing, I thought it best to pay attention. "How could you not tell the rest of us?"  
  
"Not my place," Sherman Blackstone grinned wildly and turned to me, giving me a hand that I took gratefully. My leg felt like it's been doused in fire. "Besides, he looks so much like Richard that I thought someone would have recognized him by now."  
  
"Oh damn it!" Donner ran a hand through his hair and frustration. "If I didn't have a daughter to look for right now..."  
  
"Oh relax," Sherman said as he helped me take a few tentative steps. Looks like I was getting out of the woods tonight, after all. "Luke will find her."  
  
"That's the problem."  
  
He laughed again before turning to me. "Oh by the way, Kanin. Welcome home."  
  
Now what the heck does that mean?  
  
TBC....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Okay, this story is wrapping up nicely. I hope you've all been enjoying it.   
  
Next chapter, Luke's point of view! 


	16. Chapter 16

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
  
Note: Okay, this is the payoff. I can't say that I'm all together satisfied with the result but I think it works. Sorry for those of you that may be disappointed with it. But keeping with the spirit of the ratings (note the rated R just above, there will be no gratuitous descriptions, I least none that I am aware of) I've kept it pretty tamed - no pun intended there. So, I hope everyone enjoys the story.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
I shucked off my clothes as quickly as I could, instinctively noting where I left them so I can come back to retrieve them in the future. One too many lectures from my mother about the amount of clothes I lose in the woods. It's not that I can't find it but usually what I leave overnight in the woods become pretty weather beaten by the time I do find it if I don't take extra care to note where I had left it. Plus flipping in your clothes really makes a huge mess, not to mention all time you need to take to get untangled from everything.   
  
The night opened up to me. Morphing, I am again stuck at how beautiful the world is from the wolven eyes. I always feel so much more alive when I'm on all fours. It's like breaking into a run after walking all your life. You feel like every molecule in your body jumps into full chorus of excitement as you go from human to something more.   
  
It was a beautiful night, full moon and the weight lifted from my shoulders as I take in a lung full of the scent of night. And with the light breeze exactly the way I like, carrying with it a scent that was as tantalizing as any exotic spice from the middle east, I race toward my destiny.   
  
Honeysuckles. She was wearing something that had honeysuckles mixed into it. It was light, blending well with her own unique scent that tease my senses as I follow it through the dark forest. She was running scared; I can taste it in her delightful fragrance.   
  
The first time is never easy, especially as you get older. Sixteen, nearing seventeen now, she was on the boarder threshold point. Few people make it through their first time once they reached seventeen. A shudder of fear races through me. What if she didn't make it?  
  
No, I was not going to think like that. Of course Sophia is going to make it through all right. She was special, strong and fragile all at the same time. Plus, she now have the added bonus of being the only child of the Alpha.   
  
Oh man, I want to chuckle, if I was still in human form that is, just remembering the sight of Tyler Creed's face as the vote was read the second time. The arrogant bastard! Thank god Ruby wised up and not marry the creep, just thinking of having to see that smug face every day was enough to make me hurl.   
  
The scent was getting stronger, Sophia stopped against the oak tree for a moment, leaning against it for support. One of her white sandals, straps broken, was discarded on a stump. She must have run out of breath. I can almost taste her now.   
  
Even better than Tyler Creed's expression during the vote, was what happened afterward. Oh man, my sister must have had balls of steel to stand in front of the pack and announce her marriage to Kanin the way she did. The sheriff throwing his support for her wasn't surprising, given his history. I probably would have burst out laughing had mom not elbowed me hard enough to make me choke instead. Creed looked like he just swallowed a bucket of nails.   
  
The attack wasn't unexpected, it was probably anticipated. Creed's little lackeys may have thought they were being smart when they snuck out, but it was like trying to move a herd of elephant on ice. Donner's command made it possible for me to see why the pack chose him.  
  
I was definitely getting closer to Sophia, the air was thick with her essence and the taste of river water. She couldn't have passed through this part more than five minutes ago. There was definitely distinctively different about her scent now, there was something almost... dangerous about it.   
  
Two minutes later, I was upon her. She curled in fetal position, wedged between a rock and the upturned roots of a giant redwood tree. Her hands were tucked tightly against her bent legs and stomach.   
  
*Sophia?*  
  
She looked up, her eyes glowing eerily in the pale moonlight. The smell of fear assaulted my keen senses like a brick wall. Her tears streaked her mud caked faced. She must have slipped and fallen at some point for her dress her ripped and stained in all the right places. Her feet were bare and scratched, having lost her sandals some time now.   
  
There was something else, something I didn't even notice as I got closer to her, my nose tucked down so not to frighten her. Her feet, they were no longer clumsily flat like a human. They were arched a lot more with tiny sharp nails protruding from her toes.   
  
"Luke?" Her voice was raw; whether it was from crying or from her vocal cords receding, I wasn't sure.   
  
*I'm right here, Sophia.* I moved forward, taking in her altered scent. It was definitely different now but so distinguishably hers. *Don't fight it, just let yourself go.*  
  
"I can't," her whispered fear was accompanied with a shudder of pain. She moaned as I felt her bones give and shift inside her body. "It hurts."  
  
*It always does the first time.* I nuzzled the side of her face with my muzzle.   
  
Sophia reached out to stroke my fur and I saw that her hands were beginning to change as well. Palms curled inward, fingers receding a bit, claws beginning to emerge... but she was changing too slowly. Her face was still completely human, without any sign of change with the exception of her tawny eyes.   
  
A slow flip could mean a slow agonizing death, especially without the benefits of last rites. And I certainly cannot see Sophia's father willing to administer the last rites of the clan. Something needed to be down to speed up the change. She needed help making the transition, and she needed it fast.   
  
This was the only time I've ever been grateful for the long boring lectures from Sherman Blackstone. If nothing else, the man was an expert of everything about the pack.   
  
The shift back from wolf to human took shorter time than it did to transform from human to wolf. No one really understood why, but there it was. About a minute and a half later, I was lying naked as a jaybird next to her. Am I excited; you bet your last nickel that I was.  
  
She watched me with unabashed curiosity tinged with fear. Normally, I'd probably be making some sly comment about sex and virgins but this is a lot more serious. She didn't move, just lay there, in pain and in fear, watching me.   
  
I reached out with human fingers, lightly touching her smooth satin like skin. She had the clearest complexion I've ever had the pleasure of seeing, feeling. She shivered lightly at my touch. It was like touching electricity, the jolt makes me want to throw my head back and howl at the moon.   
  
"Luke," she whispered against the palm of my hand, her breath warm against my skin. "I feel so strange. Like my entire body has come alive with... with something."  
  
"I know," I wanted her to know it all, to show her what being one of us really was. She smelled good; so very good. She tasted good too, sweet and innocent with a touch of hunger and anxiousness. Standing between the planes of two worlds, I wonder if she realized how amazing she was. I haven't felt this way since... since my first time.   
  
My father once described the metamorphosis as a rebirth, coming into the world afresh with innocence of the harms humans have inflicted upon it. That our first breath with nature was like a baby's first lung full of oxygen, both painful and perfect. I believed that.  
  
Watching Sophia feel the wonders of her change, I believed it again.   
  
I touched her with my hands, brushing against the soft newly formed fur, shadowed by the rock and oak. I taste her lips with my own, as fangs emerge from her slightly elongated jaw. I run my human legs against her thigh, feeling the muscles bunch and form. I nudge her side with my transforming paw, careful to feel for the changes as her body contorts. I lick her cold wet nose, letting her run her long sensitive tongue against my muzzle learning the taste of me. I make her mine in the most primitive way.   
  
And felt my world shatter into blissful oblivions.   
  
TBC...  
~~~~~~~~~~  
A little feed back on what you thought of the chapter would be nice. 


	17. Chapter 17

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
  
Note: What can I say? I had to do this chapter. It's not satisfying as I had hoped but it's the way it came out. Enjoy now. I'm think I'm going to mess with Kanin some more soon.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
Over the years, I've learned to hate the night. Dusk , I can tolerate. Dawn will forever be my favorite time of the day. Sophia was born at dawn. Marie died in the night. I met Marie at dusk, a little bar in the next town where she worked to put herself through college. Prettiest girl in town with a smile that could cut a man off at the knees, a smile that she had bestowed upon her little girl.  
  
"Does it hurt much?" Ruby asked in a harsh whisper from somewhere behind me. She was attending to Kanin's wounds. The trap did a nice job in tearing his ankle apart.   
  
"I'm more confused than in pain," Kanin answered in the same tone. Yes, of course he would be confused by all the events that have transpired thus far.   
  
The poor sap was in for the shock of his life. Being married is usually enough to put a man into the quakes but finding out that you married a woman that can transform herself into a wolf at will, that's putting it on another realm. Of course, that's nothing compared to what's going to find out about himself.   
  
Kanin's cabin was the closest to the woods where Sophia had disappeared to, so I had chosen to commandeer it as my head station for now. The woods should be crawling with pack members now.   
  
"And what's Blackstone's comment there at the end? What the hell did he mean, 'welcome home?' I've been in this town for months now." Kanin's cop sixth sense was no high alert now. And so was another part of him.  
  
"John..." Ruby was having some difficulties digesting what she has seen tonight. Heck, I'm still having some trouble getting a handle of being through one curve after another.   
  
I turned to watch them for a second. Ruby sat nervously on her knees, bandaging Kanin's ankle and avoiding looking at his eyes, his glowing yellow eyes. Damn Sherman and his holy-mystic-must-keep-the-pack-secret attitude. If he were here right now, I'd probably strangle the man.  
  
The light footsteps on the porch caught my attention and, disconcertingly, Kanin's.  
  
"Holy cow," our detective's eyes looking ready to fall out of his head. "Is that a wolf? Didn't know they would come this close."   
  
Kanin is going to be blown away with this next one. If what we suspect is true, and since he was showing the signs, he's going to hear. I watched as the red wolf nudged the screen door open and moved into the room with his head high and his legs hitting the floor silently.   
  
"Report!" I ordered, ignoring the questioning look from Kanin. You haven't seen anything yet.   
  
Unblinking eyes stared back solidly and nodded his furry head. Josh was always one of my favorite pack members. *Luke found her about half an hour before the first sighting. He's... with her right now.*  
  
I didn't need him to explain to me what that means.   
  
Kanin was having a difficult time believing his own senses right now. "Did he just..."  
  
"Sh..." Ruby soothed him with a hand to her shoulder and her eyes fixed on mine. It was my responsibility to explain it to him. Had he not been what he is, Ruby could tell him with permission. But now... I really hate this job.  
  
But now he was not my priority at the moment. I am and always will be a father first. "How is she?" Josh's eyes were fixed on the startled face of Ruby's new husband. The rest of the pack was about to get the news now. But first things first, "Josh!"  
  
The muzzle swung back to my scowling face. He lowered his nose with shame. *We did not get close enough to see much. But from what we can see, she appears to be far along in the change. With Luke to push her along...*  
  
I think I must have breathed a sigh of relief. My greatest fear had always been that my little girl would change. But after I knew that she would... I just want her to be okay. Marie would understand. She would want her little girl to be healthy and alive.   
  
"She'll be fine," V said as she touched my arm. I hadn't even heard her approach from behind. "Luke would never allow anything to happen to her."   
  
"I don't think Luke has any say in what her body will allow her to do," I wanted to pace the room but knew that that would be a waste of energy and did nothing to help. "Josh, get the rest to back off. I'll let Luke do this thing to get her through it. The minute there is any distress on Sophia part, I want to know about it. Make sure you keep an eye on her progress. I want to know the minute she makes the complete transition."  
  
A quick nod and the wolf was gone.   
  
It was going to be a long wait for me tonight.  
  
"Um... excuse me," Kanin peeped up with a quick wave of his hand. I turned and was still startled at those yellow eyes staring back at me. "Could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on in this crazy full-moon-year-round town? And Ruby, don't you dare put me off this time."  
  
I sighed. Perhaps it was time. If nothing else, it'll keep my mind off what Luke and Sophia is doing out there in the woods. Oh Marie, watch out for our little girl tonight. She will need your prayers and mine.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
Am I scared? Yes. Am I terrified? Yes. Am I afraid that I will lose everything? Yes. Did I think it was all worth it for him? You better believe it.   
  
I love him. There was never any doubt in my mind that I loved every fiber of him. But that still did nothing to elevate the fear in my heart as I watch him listen in stunned silence at what Sheriff Donner had to say to him.   
  
Shock would be a good word to describe John right now. Horrified? Maybe. Disbelieving? Definitely. Until the mirror was brought up to his face and he saw for himself. There was no mistaken those glowing eyes, the same as what he had seen on Sophia not too long before.   
  
To be completely honest, I don't think his surprise was any more than mine. Seeing him with eyes that I've come to hate when staring at myself in the mirror, it scared me. Not that I was afraid of John; he would never hurt anyone. I was afraid that he would have to go through the horror of knowing that your life no longer belong to you, that you were something of a whole and can never be anything else.   
  
John loves his freedom like no man I've known. He lives with this openness that first drew me to him. How can we confine such a free spirit?   
  
"So you're saying that one my parents may have been..."  
  
"There is no maybes here, Kanin," Donner interrupted with a firm shake of his head. "It's in the blood. You don't show signs unless you have the blood. And plus, Sherman is right, you look enough like your father that we should have figured it out sooner without the old bastard playing game with us all."  
  
The lines on Donner's face were etched with concern. He was no doubt as concern for John as I am. With him showing signs of the change in such a late stage in life... Oh please, don't let this be happening, not to him, not to us, not when we've come so far...  
  
Silence fell as John tried to work it all out in his mind. For a man of science and logic, this was putting him to his limits. I put my arms around, resting my hand on his shoulder, and offered him my support, like a good wife is suppose to do, and realized that I was shaking. John turned and looked me in the eyes, and I allowed him to see me as I am. I watched as the surprise came to him and saw the reflection of myself in his eyes.   
  
It may be that something akin to fear showed in my face. It may be that he simply knew me better than I thought. It may be that he needed the assurance as much as I did. But John always did know how to make me feel safe again. Leaning in, he touched his lips to my knuckle for the briefest of contacts. "I love you."  
  
And my heart melted into a puddle somewhere in the region of my feet. I could feel the tears gather. Did I really doubt him? Did I really doubt his love for me? "John, we're going to get through this."  
  
"Was there any other alternative that I should have known about?" he asked tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. His calloused fingertips brushed against my temple and I shiver with memories of long nights in bed. "Tell me what happens now?"  
  
"Sherman should be here," V interjected logically.   
  
I nodded my head. "He's our Keeper here. We need to ask him what will happen. There hasn't ever been a case of a latent transformation, at least none that I'm aware of." I wanted to tell him about the dangers, about what he may be...  
  
"And the graves?" He must have seen my intent. I have to remind myself that he's a cop, and cops see more than most. "The ones with all those teenagers?"  
  
Donner leaned over the table and grabbed Kanin's hand for a moment. "Most that transform after sixteen don't make it. The human body rejects that change and they...they get stuck between."  
  
"What happens to those that get stuck?" he asked, probably already knowing the answer.  
  
Donner was watching the window again, probably worried about his child, the one that may become stuck. I couldn't tell him, I was too afraid of... something. Vivian came to my recrue, taking the burden onto her own shoulders. "When the body rejects it, the person's human and wolf side battles for control. The body eats itself. It's a very slow and 'painful' death."   
  
John was watching V with those glittering eyes. "That night in the hospital, when So... when someone called me about a girl that was there. She was stuck, wasn't she? You and your late husband was there to... 'help?'" The question there didn't phase V. "I don't buy it. What were you doing..." The consequences and the Alpha's role in the clan finally set in. "You 'help' them along, don't you? End the pain."  
  
Vivian nodded cooling. My stepmother wasn't going to defend her position, not when she knew it's right. "Willard hated that part of his duties. It hurt him more than it hurt the parents sometimes."  
  
John nodded slowly. "I don't doubt that." He turned to Donner. "Sophia..."  
  
"Will be fine," the sheriff turned and watched the night, his eyes glowing in the dark room. None of us had bothered to turn on the light. "My daughter will be fine."  
  
"And if she's not?" Why John was asking the hard questions, I'm not sure. But the look in Donner's eye was enough of an answer. "I see. Okay then." He looked around. "So where's the wily shaman of yours?"  
  
"Ours, John," I corrected him softly, turning his attention to me. "Ours. You are part of this pack when you married me. And now that you've... You're one of us. Sherman welcomed you home, remember?"  
  
He nodded slowly, almost bitterly. "Like I can forget!"  
  
I wanted to take the hurt in his eyes away. I wanted to say something that will reassure him the same way he always seem to reassure me. I wanted to do something, anything except sit here feeling completely helpless and useless.  
  
The footsteps on the steps captured our attention.   
  
Donner got up as the gray wolf emerged from the shadows. "What is it?"  
  
*Sophia is coming.*  
  
TBC....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
R&R, please. 


	18. Chapter 18

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Note: I apologize for the delay in getting this out. Life decided to throw a little more work at me and I had to take care of business.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
When I asked Luke what it was like, he replied by putting the paddle to the metal. That sudden rush of adrenaline didn't even come close to describing the kind of euphoria that one experiences when you feel the earth crunch under your paws.   
  
Paws... wow.   
  
I think rebirth would be an appropriate word here. You see the world in such a different world way. Like what we see with human eyes a mere façade compared to what the primitive eyes sees. Humans contaminate earth; we kill it slowly. Animals, they live in harmony with Mother Nature. And now I was one of them.  
  
It is always assumed by me that I would be afraid of this part. No, it's not being the wolf that scares me. It's being a human trapped in the wolf that scared the hell out of me. Okay, I can't even explain that right in my own mind. I feel and know as Sophia. But this shape that I occupy, this four-legged vessel that I inhabit, it feels... good. It feels good.   
  
So I have to wonder which one of these shapes is me? The glasses-wearing human? Or the...  
  
I took a moment to stop running and glanced down at myself. I hadn't really paid attention to what I look like, only knew that I was no longer human, walking on two legs.   
  
*Sophia, what's wrong?*   
  
My head whipped around to star at the gray wolf with those intense eyes. *Luke, what color am I?*  
  
*What?*  
  
Even through our mind link I can hear the surprise in his voice. Poor Luke, he seems more dazed than I am. But I guess it would kind of hard to tell what color someone is when color doesn't really matter, not to a wolf. Everything was seen in intensity and heat.   
  
*Where's my dad? Is he okay?* I asked suddenly remembering what night it still was. The meeting would have to be over by now. The fate of the clan, my fate, now rests on someone's shoulder. But who? Oh god, please don't let it be Tyler Creed.  
  
*Your dad is fine,* he nuzzled me with his muzzle. *Everything is going to be perfect from now on.*  
  
I can tell the way serenity in his voice that he truly believes it. Me? I'm not too sure about. After all, I may have flipped but I'm still half human. How the rest of the pack is going to treat that little tid bit is still up in the air. Okay, at least I know since I've flipped, whoever the new Alpha is would be less tempted to kill me now. Not that it's any reassurance.  
  
*You need to relax.*  
  
I swung my elongated nose toward him. *Relax? You expect me to relax after that?*  
  
Do wolves smirk? Cause I could have sworn he smirked. I just know that had he been in human form, that shit eating grin would have been fully in place. *I was that good?*  
  
I did not deemed it necessary to answer him on that. Seriously, the boy was incorrigible.   
  
*This way, Sophia.* The red wolf appeared almost out of nowhere. I had heard the others someone in the back of my head but I hadn't been paying too much attention to them until now. They were everywhere.   
  
The silence of the night, the stillness of the woods that have always been so eerie to me in the past, was completely crowded and alive now. It's like downtown square on Fourth of July. Frightening how I never knew how many people were watching me as I took my walk through the woods, sometimes alone at night. Definitely need to rethink my periodic outlets.   
  
*Where are we going?* I asked naively. The pack was out in hordes tonight. I guess with a new leader, they are out celebrating.... Or killing.  
  
Eyes that glowed in the darkness met mine before the red wolf answered. *To see the Alpha.*  
  
Great! It's like trial by fire for me. First Luke and his... well, his little act of kindness I suppose. Don't get me wrong; I have no doubt in my mind that he enjoyed it. I just even thought my first time would be... in the in-between realms of reality. So much for having a semi normal life around here.  
  
*Will you please just relax? I see how tense you are even from here.* Luke moved over and nudged me with his nose. His pelt of soft fur brushed against mine and ever follicle seem to stand up on end. It was an incredible sensation, feeling every molecule in your body become aware.   
  
We near the edge of the woods and I see a line of sentry pacing the area. Guards to the king. The vote must have been close, or even contentious. They were expecting an attack. They were expecting this to be bloody. And if the scent of violence that I smell in the air was any indication, there had been an attack.  
  
Strange how I can detect violence in the winds when I've never felt it in my life. Perhaps Jung was right when he said that we all have archetypes that we... oh just listen to me! I could die the minute I step through that door and all I can think about is analyzing psychology theories. Freud would have a field day with me.  
  
Okay, here's a better question to ask myself. What the hell is my father? A slow unnerving fear began to wound its way around her heart. Dad has been on the outs with he pack for some time now. What if.... What if something decided to do something about it? What if it's not me they wanted but my dad? What if....  
  
*Go in,* the red wolf suggested as two others stepped away from the entrance to admit me. *Don't keep the Alpha waiting.*  
  
I suppose that would probably be bad for my health.  
  
Luke came over and have me a push with his nose. The boy was just so eager to get me in the door wasn't he? To think, I was actually afraid for him earlier! And I... with him too! Oh damn it. I'm scaring myself. And I don't even have anything to back it up. For all I know, the new leader just wants to welcome me into the pack.  
  
Right! And pigs fly south with the geese. I better tell the rest of the pack to watch out for that wonderful phenomenon.   
  
It was quiet as I entered the foyer, none of the others followed except for Luke. No one had bothered to turn on the light in Kanin's cabin, no one I know needs it. The smell of blood from two different people was thick in the air. And a motley of scent, human's and wolf's, crowded the entranceway. A shiver a fear made it's way to the surface.  
  
*Come on,* Luke whispered encouragingly as he took the lead toward the living room where a murmur of voices could be heard.   
  
Bracing myself, I stepped tentatively into the room.  
  
The silence hit me like a brick wall. Five pairs of eyes, eyes that were unnaturally bright in intensity, turned as one toward me. I was stunned for a moment to see the brightness in Kanin's eyes that I failed to notice my father's reaction. And when I finally did, I wished to hell that I had kept my gaze on Kanin's face.   
  
The look of shock and horror that decorated his face, though slightly distorted by my wolven vision, was still clear enough see. The pain from the first flip was bad, but this... this look on my father's face, it is a hundred times worse. I wanted to hide, I wanted to cry, I wanted to...  
  
"Sophia!" my name came out like a breathless whisper as he dropped to his eyes, hands held out to me.   
  
I was frightened. *Daddy?*  
  
There were tears in his eyes. I've never seen my father cry. "My little girl," he was beckoning me now. And like all children of earth, we always go home to our parents. I stepped forward, allowing his hands to touch my head. Putting his arms around me, he hugged me close until I could feel his heart beating against my cheek. "I'm so sorry."  
  
*Why, Daddy?* I licked the tears away, tasting the salt on my sensitive tongue. *I'm all right now.*  
  
"That's Sophia?" Kanin asked in a near whisper from somewhere to my right.   
  
Turning, I watched him watch me. Ruby had one hand resting on his shoulder, like a queen by his king. The quiet power in him that everyone always sensed was more at the surface now. There was a coil of tension in his shoulders. But it was more now, like some great weight was on them more now. The sense of awareness came though me like lighting. Kanin was changing, slowly but surely. *Good evening, Detective.*  
  
He looked almost disgruntled. Looks like someone told him the truth. And from the way his eyes were now bright with something more than human curiosity, I would say that it was the Alpha that had the unpleasant task. Speaking of Alphas....   
  
"Welcome to the family, Sophia." I turned and looked up, way up, to the slightly smiling face of Vivian Cates. "Luke," she rested her hands on Luke's gray head. "You've chosen well."  
  
Somehow, I didn't exactly like the sound of that little possessive term. *Dad?*  
  
I had been so absorbed by Vivian's Cate's sudden friendliness toward me that I had failed to notice my father's movements. He was on the ground, crouched before me. His distinguished face lined with wary wrinkles that only added to his sense of power. But behind all that, there was this tension of fear that I could almost taste in the air. The night is still young and the danger isn't over yet. "What is it Sophia?" he asked quietly, his hand lightly stroking my head.   
  
*What happened tonight?* I anxiously to Kanin and Ruby then at my father again. *Dad, the guy outside said that that Alpha wanted to see me. What is he going to do?* Surprise rippled through the air, like waves on a pond. *What? What did I say?*  
  
"Sophia, didn't you know?" Vivian asked quietly as she moved by my father's side.   
  
I watched her carefully, not exactly liking the way her hand rested so comfortably on my father's shoulder. *Know what?*  
  
Luke nudged me with his nose to get my attention. *Sophia, I thought you knew.*  
  
I swung my nose toward my father again, fear racing through my veins. *Dad, who is it?*  
  
"Sophia..."  
  
"So," Sherman Blackstone called out as he entered the room. "The Alpha and his daughter. What is a sweet little scene we have here!"  
  
I think I fainted after that.   
  
TBC...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Next up, Vivian's point of view. 


	19. Chapter 19

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Note: Sorry for the delay guys. Life decided to try to beat me down and I had to crawl my way back into some semblance of normalcy.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
"Sophia!"  
  
I almost reached out to pull Matt back as he rushed forward to catch his daughter, not that it would have done me any good. Matthew Donner was not one to be dissuaded from anything he puts his mind to. It is but one of the reason that he is going to make an exceptional leader. That, plus the unexpected bonus of his daughter.  
  
"Lucas," I commanded, grabbing the scuff of his furry neck as he leapt forward to his fallen 'mate.' Matt wasn't nearing seeing his only child as a woman in her own rights. A wrong move by my son now could still mean the death of him, regardless of the leader's reputation for fairness.  
  
When whimper did not gain his release as he had hoped he growled in hopes that I would back off. When I glanced down at him with my wolf just below the surface, he merely bowed his head and watched Sophia as she shifted from snowy pelt to the creamy human skin.   
  
Now there was a surprise no one could have expected, much less my poor Matt. I wonder if Sophia realizes just how much of a shock she had just given her father. White Wolves were rare, one every couple of hundred years, maybe. Two in one generation...never heard of... yet.   
  
I glanced sideways at Sherman, who stood there watching our new Alpha with that grin that was meant to irritate everyone that was within seeing range. I swear, one of these days, Sherman is going to push someone too far and get himself killed. And that day may have just arrived.  
  
"Damn it Sherman!" Matt's eyes glowed dangerously as he turned to confront our Keeper.   
  
"Oh come on Matt," Sherman said amiably. "She was going to have to find out sooner or later. I just thought it would do everyone some good if it was sooner."  
  
"You didn't have to do it like that," Matt growled deep in this throat. The wolf was close to the surface now, I can smell the change in the air. It gladdened my heart to see it in his eyes, reminds of why I fell for him in the first place. It's been so long, so incredibly long since I've seen the wolf within him.   
  
Sherman waved the threat away, knowing fully well that Matthew Donner does not kill for frivolous reason. "How are you doing over there, Kanin?"  
  
"Better," our out of town loner replied cautiously, his yellow eyes still glowing brightly in the dim room. He had one hand clamped firmly around his bleeding ankle and the other around the arm his wife had encircled his shoulders with.   
  
They make a striking couple, her delicate almost fragile beauty with his... his male dominance. Seeing them together, the same wolven eyes flashing, it is of little wonder that I agree to support their marriage together. They would make a powerful pair...if Kanin survives.  
  
The revelation about Mr. John Kanin was the biggest surprise of the night. Sophia making the change and reaffirming her father's position was less of a shock that Kanin's connection to our little town. I remember Richard Lightfoot. I remembered him well. He was one of the few members of the pack that supported Matt's marriage to Marie. I always wondered what happened to him after that night, where so many of us fell by our own. But then, so many of us simply disappeared in the woods that night that we may never know what happened.  
  
Now his son returns into the fold, as the mate of the... a white wolf. How special!  
  
"Won't be long now," Sherman pronounced, suddenly sober and serious as he continued to watch Kanin with keen eyes that I have yet to see glow with the power of the animal within. I often wonder about that. This man, the Keeper, knows all the clan secrets but I have yet to see him 'be' part of the pack.   
  
"What won't be long?" Ruby asked, her voice tinged with fear.   
  
The visible tension radiating from the couple told the truth, they both already knew what was coming. Kanin, if nothing else, was no dummy when it comes to pulling it all together and coming up with the right conclusion.   
  
Sherman, deeming it unnecessary to answer the two, went to Sophia to check on her, make sure she was all right. "Go home Matt, the rest of the pack is waiting outside to escort you back. Creed and his gang of lowlifes are on the run now. Davidson took the hunters to follow at a distance, make sure Creed doesn't do anything stupid."  
  
"No blood let tonight, Sherman." Matt said as he picked up his daughter. "Make sure the rest of the pack knows that. I won't have it."  
  
The Keeper nodded his peppered head with complete understanding. Luke and I followed to the door, waited until the alpha got his daughter into his car before we both made out moves.   
  
"Sheriff!" Luke squeaked out before his larynx had a chance to completely reform. Embarrassed, he made a production out of clearing his throat as the rest of the pack suddenly made their way around their new leader. "I wanted to..." He licked his lips and glanced through the window of the car. "I was hoping to come with you. I... I just want to make sure she gets home safe."  
  
I watched and waited, wanting to see how Donner was going to handle this.   
  
His eyes flashed for a moment, all the protective instincts of a father flaring to the surface. But he knew, just as anyone that got close enough know, Sophia already belonged to Luke, there was no way around it. And like any good father, he knew when to push his limits and when to relent.  
  
He held the door to the car open, motioning to Luke to enter by his daughter's side.  
  
My young pup leapt forward like the eager protective young male that he is but I stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "Will she all right with you?" never taking my eyes off the new Alpha.   
  
Luke turned to me, obviously startled. But Matt studied me for a moment, sensing my intentions. My intentions? It's what it has always been, to protect me young, just as he protects his. What could possibly make us any different? Except in my case, I've just questioned my alpha, a sure death sentence in the old days. But Matthew Donner was hardly archaic.   
  
Tilting his head, Donner gave a dangerously amused smile. "I haven't decided whether to maim him or castrate him but he'll live another day. Death would be too fast and too easy."  
  
Luke backed up a step and almost stepped on my toes.  
  
I grinned. My son's fate was secured for now; it was time to see to other aspects of our lives. "I need to speak with you for moment."   
  
He nodded, sensing my shift in moods. "Luke, take her home. Touch her again before the night is done and I'll lean toward castration."  
  
My son nodded his head, knowing now that Donner was merely enjoying torturing him. Giving the alpha a wide berth, Luke slipped into the driver's seat and started the engine. He took off faster than either one of us would have liked but what can I say... he's a teenager.   
  
"Brad, take a team and follow him," Donner said, he held up a arm to stop the protest that never made it out of my throat. "I don't want Creed or any of his posses any where near my daughter, now or any other night. I hear anything other wise, you are the first person I'll be look to for answers."  
  
Brad's shaggy gray turned for a moment before he and six other took off after the speeding SUV.   
  
"The rest of you, go home. Meeting of the Betas tomorrow, six o'clock, town hall basement room. Get the word out." He watched the shadows move, melting into the woods as a howl followed by another echoed in the woods. In the distance, members bayed at moon. Message by word of mouth...muzzle, still the most reliable source of information in town.   
  
"Wise choice, Matt." Referring to his putting one of the more uncertain member of the pack on alert. "Brad was one of the swing votes."   
  
"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," he sighed and turned to me. "Before you ask..."  
  
"Ask what?"  
  
"About the Alpha House."  
  
He knew me so well. The house where I live, where my son grew up in, was traditionally the home of the Alpha. It was pack property, to be passed from one leader to the next. Now that he was the Alpha, it was expected of him to live in it. "Go on."  
  
He turned his face toward the moon, letting the silvery light caress his face. "I won't take it from you. You and Luke and Ruby and John can stay there as long as you like."  
  
"It is your home now," I pointed out softly, aching to reach out for him. "Yours and Sophia's."  
  
"We have a home and you don't." He turned to look at me. "Can't throw you out into the streets now can I? Not exactly a good example to be setting for the younger sets."  
  
"Willard did not beggar us when he died. We have the money to buy a new home. If fact, we can probably buy yours, since you'll no longer be needing it."  
  
He shook his head. "What do you propose, V? Cause I know this isn't what you had in mind when you ask to speak with me."  
  
I didn't hesitate like I thought I would. "Move into the house."  
  
"And into your bed?" he asked, jumping logically to the right conclusion.  
  
"Would it really be so bad getting into bed with me every night?" I asked.  
  
He didn't answer. He didn't have to. There are certain things a man cannot hide. "I loved Marie."  
  
"And I loved Willard," I replied softly, not daring to touch him. "And they are both gone. Life goes on, Matt. It always does. It is our choice how to live it."   
  
He nodded his head slowly.   
  
For the first time, I think he heard me.   
  
It's been sixteen years since he's had a tasted the wind on his tongue and the woods sing with life. Sixteen long years since he denied the animal that cried to come out and longed to feel the heartbeat of nature under his paws. Sixteen years of dormant power that raged against its confinement. Tonight, he shifted into his natural state and lived once more. Left the rich earth sing out to meet him. Feel the current of the woods as it brushed against the fine fur dark fur. Became one with himself once more.   
  
And just as he denied the wolf, he denied the man. Sixteen years since he repressed the need of the man that crawled into a lonely bed every night dreaming. Sixteen years since he's felt the touch of a woman, tasted the essence of passion. Tonight he knew that he could have it all again with just one word.   
  
How long can he resist it?  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Hope you all enjoy that! Some feedback would be greatly appreciated. 


	20. Chapter 20

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17. This is usually just a precaution. I generally don't write anything that may offend but hey, you never know. I may have one of those bad days.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
I could hear them as I drove Sophia home. There was at least eight, maybe nine of them behind us, panting their breaths as they struggle to keep up with my driving skills. I knew Donner wouldn't trust me with his only child, not even if I've made it clear that Sophia was going to come to no harm where I was concerned.   
  
Course, I couldn't blame him. My reputation wasn't too great where women were concerned.   
  
She was so lovely, pale in the moonlight as she slumped in her seat. I once read a story about a fairy tale in China, about the goddess of the moon that came down on earth and seduced a king from his people. That's what Sophia reminded me of right now, the goddess of the moon. So incredibly beautiful.   
  
I hope to god she doesn't wake. Finding me here, naked as a jaybird and her only wrapped in a blanket, I can already hear the screaming. Of course, why her own beauty should embarrass her is beyond me.   
  
Girls tend to be strange that way.  
  
Hope the sheriff really was just kidding about the castration part. But then again, he is the Alpha now. My father took his duties and his threats seriously. He says it; he'll do it. But Sheriff Donner... he's a whole other kettle of fish. I can't quite wrap my mind around him being... it was always my father's place. But then, I always imagined my father being around forever.   
  
God, I don't want to think about that.   
  
Right now, all I want to do is get Sophia home and in bed... I rather that it be my bed but I guess hers will have to do. I don't suppose that Sheriff Donner would let me share it with her.   
  
The soft moan that distracted me nearly caused a traffic accident.   
  
"Calm Luke, just calm down," I chanted to myself gripping the stirring wheel with enough force to crack it. Oh boy, Donner isn't going to be too happy with me when he sees his car again. Note to self: replace the wheel...fast!  
  
"Oh man..." Sophia waking up as she rubbed her head with one naked arm. "What hit me?"  
  
"Kanin's carpet-less floor. Or rather, you hit it." I explained, carefully slowing the car down to just under the neck-breaking pace. No need to alarm her any more than necessary. "Sit back, relax, you're almost home."   
  
Even if without looking at her, I can see the question then surprise then horrifying shock that must have crossed over her expressive face. "LUKE!"  
  
"Calm down," he replied, catching side of something big and gray in the rear view mirror. "I have permission from you dad to drive you home."  
  
Sophia made a choking sound with the back of her throat. "I'm naked."  
  
I couldn't help myself, but you have to give me credit for trying though. I laughed, it was the first time I really let myself be happy since my dad died. "Baby, trust me when I say that it's kind of hard for me not to have notice that. Or haven't you notice my reaction?"  
  
Even in the darkness, I could see her turn red from head to toe.  
  
"You're impossible," she muttered, pulling the blanket tighter around her neck. "And you're stupid."  
  
That caught me by surprise. "How?"  
  
"You're driving naked," she pointed out then flushed with color once more when I turned to grin at her. "You'll end up catching cold or something."  
  
"Sophia?" he asked, turned the corner without slowing down at all. "Have you ever seen your father sick?"  
  
"What?" gripping the car door tightly as the SUV went on two wheels for a fraction of a second. "Could you please try not to get both of us killed?"  
  
"We don't die that easy," I pointed out as reasonably as possible.   
  
"You're going to if you don't slow this car DOWN!"   
  
I love it when she shows her fire, it makes her come alive like nothing else in the world will. And given that she's had a rather...upsetting day, I decided to comply. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Oh great, I'm just peachy," she replied dryly, her hand still retaining the death grip on the car door.  
  
Stealing a quick glance as her, I couldn't help but feel bad. Her lips were almost white with terror and her eyes darted back and forth in agitation. I can taste the fear that crowded the air around her. She was having a really bad night. Reaching over, I clasped one hand over her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Everything is going to be fine."  
  
"We don't know that, Luke. Everything can go to..." she suddenly stopped, her eyes narrowing sharply at the road ahead of us. "Wait, am I remembering correctly here? Did Mr. Blackstone say that my DAD is the new Alpha?"  
  
Hum... I was wondering when that was going to catch up to her. "Yes, you heard correctly."  
  
She stared at me as if I'd just told her I worshiped Satan and believed the earth is flat. "This is so not happening."  
  
"I'm afraid it is, babe."  
  
"My father? My dad, the Alpha? My dad, who hasn't flipped since... since before I was born, is the new leader of the pack?"  
  
"Yup!" I replied lightly, wondering if for a brief moment what she did with her glasses. As endearing sweet as those thing look on her, I highly doubt she was going to be in need of them any longer.   
  
"My dad, leader of the clan that could just as soon see me dead than running around in...." she was stuck. And she couldn't seem to get pass the idea.   
  
"Sophia, you're becoming hysterical."  
  
She turned slowly toward him slowly, her eyes narrowing slowly. You know how sometimes you get that chilling feeling that you just did something stupid, but it's already been done and there is really nothing you can do to limit or even eliminate the damage? Well, I'm having one of those moments now.   
  
"HYSTERICAL???"  
  
I winced and wonder if she realized just how sensitive the wolven hearing is. "Well..."  
  
"You expect me to be okay with all this?" her eyes were glowing bright once more. God she was beautiful when she's angry. So alive with the inner fire that burns like... okay, poetics while she looks ready to rip out my throat is probably not thing at the moment.   
  
"Sophia..."  
  
"You really think no one is going to challenge him, don't you?" she asked, her eyes filled with disbelief and anger. "You really think that everything is just hokey-dory now, don't you?"  
  
I turned to her, really looked at her for a moment. The terror in her eyes had not been diminished by her rage. There was something that ate at me when I see fear in a woman's eyes. My father once told me that it was a man's position in life to never allow the women in his life to be afraid of anything. It was his job to protect, to defend to insure the peace of mind of his woman. "Sophia, Creed isn't going to do anything to your father. He can't, he's already tried and failed. Your dad is one big bad wolf. He took Creed down without breaking a sweat."  
  
"Really?" he asked, not the least bit surprised. But there was something in her voice, that soft frightened voice. "And now that Creed knows he can't win in a fair fight, what makes you think he won't do it the underhanded way? What makes you think that he operates under the same code of honor as everyone else around here?" Her pale lips trembled for a moment. "It only takes one bullet to bring down a man....or a wolf. Alpha or no Alpha. You of all people should know that by now."  
  
I had to reply to that. What could I possibly say?  
  
TBC.... 


	21. Chapter 21

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Note: Okay, this story is winding down slowly. I've been under some time constraints, which is why it's taken so long for each chapter. Sorry for the delay guys. Hope you enjoy this one.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Kanin's POV-  
  
I tried to hide it, pretend that it's not there, and for a moment, I think I've succeeded. Then she turns to me with those pale eyes and I see that it's not easy to hide. I know that Sherman said that it wouldn't be long but I didn't think he meant now.  
  
"John?" Ruby's voice was whisper soft and held a hint of fear in them. It was strange; I don't think I've ever heard that kind of gut wrenching fear in a person's voice before. Even when she was living in fear and begging me not to ask questions, she didn't sound nearly as fearful as she does now. It was... humbling.   
  
"I'm okay," I tried to reassure her. But I knew that I wasn't. I knew that whatever was happening to me... it's wasn't going to be easy or all right. I can see it in her eyes, see it in Blackstone's eyes; more than that, I can feel it in my guts.   
  
All those headstones, including the one of Ruby's beloved sister, all of them never made it. Older you get, the harder it gets. There hasn't been a case of a full adult surviving the change... at least none that Donner has ever heard of. Blackstone would have to confirm that didn't he, standing there nodding his gray head with that annoyingly know-it-all smile on his face.   
  
"So Blackstone," choosing to look at the old man rather that face the fear I see in my wife... still can't believe it...in my wife's face. "What now?"  
  
"Sleeping well lately, Kanin?" he asked, moving around the room with ease, like he lived there. "Dreams? Nightmares? Delusions of grander?"  
  
I slanted him a look, not appreciating his humor at the moment. "Not exactly a town that inspires a peaceful night's sleep."  
  
"Meaning no," he gave me a tight smile then headed into the kitchen. "Should have come to me sooner."  
  
"And why would that be?" I asked, annoyed by the fact that he appears to be preparing to make tea. "I had no idea what these pre-change dreams were about. After that soup you gave me..."  
  
"What soup?" Ruby asked, her voice suddenly sharp.  
  
I looked at her, more specifically her wolf's eyes, a felt a tinge of fear at the ferocious predator look in them. "I had a cold. Blackstone brought me soup. Had me hallucinating for two days."   
  
She turned those dangerous eyes toward Sherman. "Chicken soup and herbs?" Sherman merely smiled back at her with a fondness that she obviously did not welcome. The growl came from her throat so fast that I nearly jumped out of my skin. "With all the little extras?"  
  
I was beginning to see it somewhat. "Why do I have a feeling that you know the recipe well?"  
  
Her hand tightened around her arm, nails beginning to draw blood that she wasn't aware of. "You gave him *the* soup?"  
  
"I thought I might as well start the whole process," Sherman answered amiably as he set the kettle on the stone and turned the knob a few times. "Hey Kanin, I think this thing is...." The sudden burst of flames had him taking several steps back. "Never mind."   
  
"I can't believe you did something so irresponsible?" Ruby shouted as she got to her feet.  
  
"Ruby," grabbing onto her arm, and reminding myself that my ankle stilled looked like some wild animal had been gnawing on it. "The delay on the gas stove has been doing that since I moved in here."  
  
She frowned at me. "I'm not talking about the stove, John. I'm talking about the soup."  
  
There was a sudden dreadful feeling that was beginning to unfold in the pit of my stomach. "What about the soup?"   
  
But Ruby wasn't paying attention to me at the moment. Her head was shaking slowly, her face full of pain. "You shouldn't have done it. There was no need."  
  
Blackstone turned to look at her through the darkness of the room. "You think so? You don't think that John might have eventually turned? The signs were all there, his come back here would have sped thing along. Being in such close proximity would have force his inner self to surface sooner or later. I just help speed up the process."  
  
"WHAT WAS IN THE SOUP???"  
  
They both turned to stare at me but I didn't care. This was my life and I needed to know. God, all the secrets and mysterious that revolved around my world... mine and Ruby's world. The last thing I need was for her to start keeping things from me.   
  
Then all of the secrets didn't matter. The dreadful feeling in my stomach was beginning to feel like a giant rock someone decided to drop into or onto my body. It was unexpected and painful. I folded like a prizefighter taking a knockout punch. Next came the heat, like someone had set fire to my back and spread it through to my sides. It was unbearable but it was mild compare to the weight in my middle. Something was definitely not right.   
  
"John!" I felt her cool hands but even Ruby's gentle touch didn't help elevate the pain.   
  
"What is happening?" I manage to pull out between trying to keep from passing out. That would be so embarrassing, fainting in front of my wife.   
  
It wasn't until I saw her face that I wished that I hadn't asked. The sheer terror in her eyes was enough to make my insides quiver with.... as if it wasn't shaking from sheer agony already. "John," her cool hand against my head did not help to assuage the heat. "The soup is what is given to us when it appears that we are going into the change too late. Usually when one of the kids hit sixteen and still haven't flipped, the Keeper gives them an ancient concoction that helps them... pushes their body... prepares them..." She seemed torn. "It's like inducing labor for a woman. It tricks the body into believing that it's ready."   
  
She continued to talk but I stopped listening, the roar in my ear as blood rushed through didn't allow for any other sound to penetrate. There was a vague memory of Ruby's hand against my temple before she was said something obscene. Funny, I don't think I've ever heard her curse like that before, not even when she stubbed her toe bad in my apartment once.   
  
I remember Sherman and Ruby dragging my dead-weigh body to the bed. How either one of them managed to lift me... oh wait, forgot already. These weren't ordinary people. The bed was hot, not comfortingly cool as it had been the last couple of night. All the blankets had been pushed aside. Somewhere, I heard a cry of sheer agony before it registered in my mind that it came from me.  
  
The red haze of pain pushed everything else out. My back felt like the time I was stabbed on the Shifford case, only a hundred times more painful.   
  
"What happened?" I head Donner asked as he came in. I hadn't even realized he was still around. Would have though his daughter took precedence over everything else. Plus there was still the little problem of Tyler Creed to deal with.  
  
"He started the change," Ruby answered as I felt the bed shift under me. Her arms came around me, holding on tight as I jerked in reaction to touch. It didn't make the pain worse but god...  
  
"Hot water," Vivian Cates commanded. Sheesh, didn't know she was still here either. I could see her, kind of, through a sheen of yellow. Her eyes were bright with intensity and her stand was... she was ready for something. The jerk of my body took her out of my sight.   
  
"Is he going to make it?" came the dreaded question.  
  
Sherman, who was pouring hot water-so that's what the kettle was for- didn't answer right away. He looked over my shoulder, at my wife. "Hang on tight, girl. This is going to be a bumpy ride."  
  
Someone should have told me how bumpy it was going to be.   
  
TBC....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	22. Chapter 22

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of.  
  
Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show's canon.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
It was beginning. Kanin, if nothing else, had the worse timing in the world. On a night like this one, the last thing you want to be is vulnerable. And then night wasn't done with yet. At least, not for him or I.   
  
"Matt?" V called softly from just inside the door of the cabin.   
  
I turned, ignoring the cries of agony from within that told me of Kanin's struggles. "How is he doing?"  
  
"Sherman wants us to leave." She came to stand by my side, offering herself and her position in the pack, without a word. "I think the old dog is playing with us again."  
  
"He knows what he's doing," or at least I hope he did. There was no telling what went on behind the eyes of our Keeper. There was so much I still don't know, don't understand and it was only the first night of my leadership. God, I could either thank or curse Vivian and Ruby for this. "I still have other things to take care of before the night is through."  
  
"Shall I keep watch here?" she asked quietly. "Or would you prefer me closer?"  
  
My blood heated at the offer. "No," I couldn't, not now. "Keep watch here. Creed's followers aren't down for the count. Ruby is strong but Kanin will need her tonight. Sophia has Luke to watch over her as well as the others."  
  
"And you?" V asked, her eyes aglow in the darkness. The full moon was out once more and it seemed to signal something terrific or horrific tonight. "Who will watch your back?"  
  
"I have others," and surprising enough I did. Even after all this time, there were still others loyal to me. The thought both invigorate and humble me. "I have deal with Creed."  
  
"He is but a pup."  
  
"He is a strong pup with no morals. If the pack is survive the changing of the guards without the kind of blood shed that it had to go through the last time, I have to bring him down hard and fast." I knew it was true in my head and heart. I've fought so hard against this kind of thing for so long, it was bitter to have to admit to myself that some of the old ways was still so needed today. "There will no rest until the pack is as one."  
  
V understood, as I knew she always did. Always practical, Vivian was. "Then let me stand by you. Let me fight by your side."   
  
"I need you safe guard the rest of the pack tonight. Josh and Sam will be my companions tonight," even as I said it, I watched the two gray wolves disengage themselves from the shadow. "The rest of the pack will divide among themselves the duties of watching over Ruby and my daughter. I need them safe guarded until Sherman and I have a chance to talk."  
  
Vivian nodded her head, turning her ears to the interior of the cabin where the half growls of pain could be heard. "It will be a long night."  
  
"And I will find peace after it," I replied, shucking the clothes off my back. I paused for a moment as my hand reach the snap to my jeans, conscious of V's eyes burning holes in my skin. I couldn't let her effect me this way. Stripping down, I stepped off the porch, bare as the day I was born, and prepared to become one with nature once more.   
  
She stopped me just as I was about to go into the change. "Be careful, Matt." And her eyes told me revealed to me the sincerity of the wish. Loyalty was not something Vivian ever lacked, especially when it came to me.   
  
Nodding, I turned and let the human world recede. Mother Earth opened up to receive me into her warm and wondrous embrace. The darkness of the night vanished as the woods became alive to my heightened senses. *Where is he?*  
  
Josh's big head swung north. Apparently, the boys have been tracking Creed and some of his posses since the little incident with Kanin. I knew I could count on Josh to keep the others behind him ready for anything. *He's hurt, but not badly enough that he can't still make a mess of things tonight.*  
  
I wanted to sigh. *I didn't expect this to be easy.*  
  
*You should have just finished him back in the clearing,* Sam said as he came from behind. Sam, like Josh, had been a good friend and loyal follower before I threw my vote behind Willard Cates in the last changing of the guards. I could always count on Sam to be the voice of reality. *It would make this unnecessary.*  
  
"Not with Sophia missing and Kanin watching like that,* but that was an excuse and I knew it. I didn't want to rip Creed's throat out, as I should have for such a blatant challenge, because it's been too long since I've walked on fours and I wasn't ready to go all out native. *But it's time he knew who the Alpha is.* And it was true. I couldn't allow Creed to continue to challenge me, it would spell doom for the pack. *We finish it tonight.*  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
I stood by the window, ignoring the stench of pain in the air as I watched the new Alpha flip for the second time in almost too long. Matthew Donner was strong, stronger than he believe himself to be. Sixteen years ago, he should have become Alpha but he gladly walked away from the position to marry the woman he loved. A decision I think endeared him more to his followers than contrary to his own beliefs. Now the fates have thrust him back into the thick of it. And what a time to be jumping back into fray?  
  
"Sherman!" Ruby's voice holds that bitter tinge of pain and irony. Light help the child who has given up so much for a chance at something greater. Now when things just appears to be at their best, she's faced with something that hasn't been seen in over... oh six hundred years?  
  
"Keep him calm," the advise was futile, I know that but she needed instructions to keep herself focused. If anyone asked me what the hell I was doing, I'd probably have to be honest and answer that I have no idea. Contrary to what Ruby believes and what I said, this wasn't what I had in mind when I gave him the soup. He was just supposed to know, not to flip out on us. I didn't think it would happen. Yes there was a slim chance that it might but that was like .0001% chance of that.   
  
Who knew that Kanin would be that special?  
  
"He's hurting!" Ruby growled, her voice taking on the tone of a protective female.   
  
"Yeah, I think the rest of the clan can hear him now," and they probably could. His mental howls of agony were powerful enough that the pack in the next county could probably hear.   
  
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Ruby asked her hand gasping Kanin's as the man's body jerked uncontrollably in the bed.  
  
I stared at her. She wasn't going to like hearing this. "I can call the Alpha back."  
  
The meaning hit her hard. "NEVER!" and her body crouched over his protectively. The white wolf has her hackles up now, let the fireworks begin.   
  
"Then get him through it," I advised quietly, watching as Kanin's eyes stared into nothing, bright and filled with some unseeing vision. He was in the thick of it now. The next few hours will be critical, especially given his age.   
  
The last recorded adult transformation was back in the Dark Ages, when Louis of Angulie flipped at the age of twenty-six. It was well documented; the Keeper had sat through the whole process, including the final administration of last rites. Louis too had been a half-breed, mother being of full blood and father being a nobleman. It was the first cross breeding into nobility, and no one knew what that results would be especially given the weakness that tend to be indicative of bluebloods.   
  
But since then, there had been many half-breeds, our newest white wolf included. Most of them are kept in community, raised with the pack so that when their time came, they would be watched by the pack. Sophia, Matt, Vivian, Ruby... the rest of the pack in fact don't know it nor do I intend to tell them, but the percentile of half-breeds making it through the first change has never been good, just below 15%. For every five, only one would make it; just as in full bloods, for every two that makes a successful change, four of their brethrens would never see the sun again.   
  
"Get out!" Ruby breathed, her eyes glowing with checked passion and rage.   
  
I smiled as I bowed and turned around to walk out. She was ready to do the necessary to save her man, which is nothing less than what I expect. So many of the young one do this, seek each other out to pull through the transformation. And I think the older members forget. Passion feeds and nurtures the beast within. And love... it is the most powerful of passions that can push a man or woman into the impossibility.   
  
"How is it going in there?" Vivian asked as she stood on the porch, eyes watching the trees sway gently with the fertile breeze. So much is happening tonight.  
  
"Oh just perfect." Vivian was ready for some real changes. And as much as I want to be a good friend to Willard Cates, I knew that he wasn't the one that could control Vivian. "You? How's the campaign going?"  
  
She didn't even pretend to be ignorant of my question. Good for her. "He'll come around." Her eyes glowed in much the same way Ruby's just did. "I know he will."   
  
"I always said, there was nothing like a determined woman to make a man quiver with fear."  
  
"Didn't work out too great for me that last time."  
  
"You were up against a much fiercer opponent the last time."  
  
She looked at me with disbelief. "You don't think I could have eliminated Marie had I truly wanted to?"  
  
"Oh killing her would have been so easy for one as you; killing Donner's love for her would have been impossible. But then, you already knew that." I watched her out of the corner of my eyes, waiting for her to admit the truth.  
  
Vivian nodded her head, regret pour out of her essence thickly. "If I had only waited."  
  
"Would you have?"  
  
"Knowing what was going to happen? Knowing what could have happened?" she stared off into the distance, listening to the call of the beasts. "Yes. Three years isn't that long to wait when it's the right thing."  
  
"Luke is a very special child," I reminded her.  
  
She smiled. "Yes, I know. One thing I will never regret is him."  
  
"Prepare yourself then," I advised with caution. "He will not take to your choice of mate well. Not when it may come at the price of Sophia's love."  
  
"He will nothing to worry about."  
  
"He's a teenager," exasperated by her thick headedness. "Of course he's going to object, no matter who you choice."   
  
"Then he'll simply have to deal with it."  
  
"And Sophia?"  
  
"Her too."  
  
"Hum..." wondering just how much of her nicely sharpened claw did she get back into Matthew Donner. "Let the games begin."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Is this story getting too long? 


	23. Chapter 23

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Author's Note: A thousand apologies for the delay in this next chapter. I've had some trouble getting my muse to cooperate with me. Sitting down to write has become more chore than enjoyment in the last couple of weeks because I couldn't seem to find any satisfaction in what I wrote. But... I'm back and I'm gearing up for the finale to this story. Hope you guys enjoy this brief installment. And thanks for waiting so patiently for me.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
Something was wrong; I could smell it in the air. It tingled down my spine and made me cold from the inside. It was as if a dense fog of tension rolled into Wolf Lake and put everyone on alert. "Luke?"  
  
"I'm right here," he answered from the window where his eyes never stayed steady, always searching and watching. "It'll be all right." But his tone told me otherwise. He was nervous, everything about him screamed balancing-on-the-edge-of-a-blade.   
  
"What is it?" I had to ask, knowing that any answer I get wasn't going to be one that I was going to want nor like to hear. Contrary to what most people thought, I wasn't as naïve in the ways of the pack as I would have the rest of them believe. My father may not talk about the ways of the old, but you can still pick up so much just be listening.   
  
As new Alpha, my dad was looking at a long and possibly deadly night. Any member of the pack could challenge him for leadership.... All they'd have to do is kill him. Hell of a way to get a job for life.   
  
"Luke, please. Just tell me what's going on?" I asked, coming up behind him to look through the window. The moon was full, but then when was it not full, and the fog was like pea soup. But wolves don't need just their eyes to see, there were plenty of other senses that we can use that are more accurate. Still, the fog was thick enough to make me real nervous. Bet the humans have never seen anything quite like this before. "Don't keep me in the dark."  
  
"Creed isn't through yet," Luke replied, pushing me gently on the shoulder, moving away from the full view of the window. "The vote was close, not as close as he would have liked it but it was close enough that anything could happen tonight. And after what happened in the woods tonight, you better believe things are going to get ugly."   
  
"What happened in the woods?" I wanted to know.  
  
"Creed tried to take down my new brother-in-law. But then, you already knew that, didn't you? You were there." His eyes were still in the fog, watching some...something that I wasn't seeing.  
  
"The men in the cabin."  
  
"Yeah," he shifted again, putting his nose against the cold glass, he treached behind him to turn off the light. "Donner made it real clear to everyone at the meeting that there was going to be no bloodshed tonight and that Kanin was under protection. No one was to go after him, for any reason. Ruby, of course, backed him a hundred and ten percent. Creed blatantly challenged your father's authority by going after Kanin. It's World War Three out there tonight. Everyone is taking sides."  
  
"Then I should be with my dad," turning to the door.  
  
He grabbed me by the arm. His eyes glowed with an intensity that was frightening. "You said so yourself earlier, it take one bullet to bring an Alpha down. And it would take only one hostage for Creed to get the upper hand."   
  
The fear raced through me so fast I was surprised that I could still stand on my own. "What are you saying?"  
  
"There are about a dozen loyal followers circling this house, making sure that you stay put and safe. Anything happens to you, you really think your dad will let any of us live?"  
  
I laughed, had to or I'd start screaming. "My dad isn't like that."  
  
"He's the Alpha. He's your father. If you think that tonight is going to be the first and last time he kills, you're more naïve than I thought." With what I can only assume to be wolven strength, he shoved me into an armchair. "You're not going anywhere, and if that means I have to hog tie you to that chair, then that's what's going to happen."  
  
For a moment, I was almost tempted to see what he'd do if I did challenge him. But there was something in his eyes, something that was too serious by half. "What's wrong, Luke?"  
  
"Something's happening," he replied, more to himself than to me. His eyes were searching the shadows. "There's too much movement."  
  
"What should we do?" I've never been in a situation like this before. No wonder my father didn't want me in this world, it was frighteningly real.   
  
"Stay put for now," his eyes glowed as he watched the fog. "We go out there, we risk exposing ourselves to enemies."  
  
"You think that they'll try to hurt me?" I wish to hell that I didn't sound so small and lost.   
  
"Try being the operative word there," he replied with a trademarked Lucas Cates grin.   
  
I have to hand it to the guy; even at moments like this he could still make my knees go weak with just a glance. It was a rather disturbing amount of power he has over me. "Will you be serious here?"  
  
"Honey, I am serious," he said with a quick flash of his eyes before he turned to the window again. "Anyone that thinks they're going to get to you will have to rip my small intestines out and use it as guitar strings first before they're going to lay a finger on that pretty head of yours."  
  
"Thanks for that mental image there, Luke," I grumbled at him as my eyes took in the fog-shroud night. Something was happening, out there in the night. Something horrible and possible life changing. If only I was stronger, like Luke. If only I was wiser, like Mr. Blackstone. If only.... If only I could do something.   
  
I hate being helpless.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
I hate being helpless.   
  
I really, really, really hate being helpless.  
  
Especially when I can see the gleam of uncertainty and fear in Sophia's eyes. She was deathly afraid, and I can't say that I blame her. I would be too, if the fate of my father was... Well, hardly productive to rehash all that. She was scared for her dad and let's just leave it at that. And we both know that there isn't anything either one of us... or anyone for that matter... can do about it. It was all up to the Sheriff... the Alpha now.   
  
I've got to remember that. Matt Donner is Alpha. He isn't just Sheriff Donner anymore. He isn't just Sophia's dad anymore. He isn't someone I want to be ticking off just for the fun of it anymore. He is Alpha; and that demands some certain level of respect and loyalty.  
  
Plus he's my mate's father. That means I've got to watch my p's and q's around him. No more of that immature, selfish stuff that I would normally pull... Well, at least not as often as I use to. Hey, a leopard can't change its spots overnight.   
  
A movement in the night caught my eyes. Two shadows that danced through the dense fog. It wouldn't have mattered to me knowing that there were those out there protecting Sophia. But this was different, the stance of the two were too familiar not to alert me. Way too much movement for this to be a friendly call. "Sophia," pushing the curtains closed and her back. "Your dad keep anything deadly in the house?"  
  
"Deadly?" her eyes were gleaming in the night again. I wonder if she has any idea what an incredible turn on it was to see her going native. Nope, I highly doubt it. "As in a service piece?"   
  
"Anything that is going to put a rabid animal down," leading her away from the window. She was safer in here. Matthew Donner no doubt took precautions living in this two for so long. He knew all our strengths and all our weaknesses. "Anything that's going to keep the someone from going for your throat."  
  
The calmness that suddenly descended on her was rather disquieting to watch. She was scared; I could see it in her eyes. But that was a good instinct to have now; fear makes you fight harder. She walked calmly to the desk by the side of the living room and pulled open a drawer. The gleaming 32mm looked ridiculously right in her hand. "Will this do?"  
  
"You know how to use it?" shedding the shirt she had dug out of her father's closet for me. Not a good idea to shred the Alpha's close. But then again, I may be doing the guy a favor. Plaid. What was he thinking?  
  
Sophia flipped the chamber open, checked that it was fully loaded, spun the chamber back into place and thumbed the safety off.   
  
"Right, dumb question," I replied, pulling on the elastic waist of the sweatpants she gave me. It gave me perverse pleasure to watch her watch me undress. There was sensual feminine appreciation in her eyes that almost made me forget what I was doing. No time to think with my libido now, there was too much at stake. Not the least of which is the life of the girl in front of me. "Don't shoot at shadows, you might hit one of us."  
  
"I'm not stupid," she snapped, her fears bring up her backbone. "I learned how to shoot before I learned to ride a bike."  
  
"Figures that your dad would prepare you," I replied, shaking loose my limbs in all my glory, enjoying the way Sophia's eyes stray then snap back then stray again. "You can look all your like, baby. Doesn't bother me one bit."   
  
Even in the dimness of the room, I could see her blush. But rallying her spirits, "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to go help my fellow brothers of the furry four-legged variety."   
  
"I'm coming too," she said, picking up her jacket.  
  
Grabbing the garment, I tossed it cross the room. "You're going to behave like the spoiled princess that I know you are not and stay here. We have enough to worry about without having to watch over you out there. Go to your father's room, I'm pretty sure he's got the most secure room in this house. Stay there until I or Ruby or your Dad come and get you. You don't open the door for anyone else. And you shoot anyone that tries to force the issue. We clear?"  
  
I knew that was the wrong thing to say when her eyes narrowed darkly. I hadn't realize that anyone's eyes could go from worry to furious in two point two seconds. Lord, she's got the most beautiful honey color eyes in the world. Wait... honey colored? Oh boy, she's really mad now.  
  
"I'm not some helpless, useless female that need some stupid night in armor to rescue her," she poked me hard in the chest, wolf strength and everything. I'm glad that I have a stronger constitution than her. "I am not going to just sit idly by while my people are out there..."  
  
"They are there on order to protect you," knowing she's not going to like that very much. "We are here to protect you for the sole reason that you are the Alpha's greatest weakness in the world. You know what's going on out there?" pointing to the dark window. "You know what I'm going to be walking into out there? An all out attack. That's what happening out there. My friends, your friends, friends of you dad, they're out there keeping Creed's followers out of his house, away from you. Cause they know and I know that if anything happens to you, Donner will lose. He'll do anything to protect you. We can't hand Creed your dad's weakness on a silver platter." I pushed her toward the stairs, none too gently. "Now get upstairs and stay there. I've got friends to help out."  
  
For a moment, I thought she was going to flip out on me, and not in the way I would have liked. But someone stopped her. For a few heartbeats, she just stood here, half on the first step looking at me. Then her hand was sudden at the back of my neck, pulling me forward with a strength I hadn't realized she possessed. The kiss was pure beauty. It tasted like first bloom of spring and last snowdrop of winter. A hundred stars exploded in two seconds. "Be careful," then walked up the stairs without another word.   
  
I was in heaven.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
Okay, I had intended for this particular part to be longer before I moved onto the next section but it didn't quite work out. I know that I've been varying that point of views of the characters to get a more well rounded story going. But I didn't like where I left this and honestly don't want to wait another two chapters to get back into this particular subplot. So...Would anyone mind if I did Sophia and Luke's POV again for the next installment? 


	24. Chapter 24

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summary: It's a dangerous world out there.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
I tried to ignore the fact that my heart felt like it was currently located somewhere in my throat and beating faster than a hummingbird's wings. I tried to ignore the fact that my hands felt cold and numb and I probably shouldn't be handling a gun at the moment. And I tried to ignore the fact that I knew exactly what Luke was about to do and fought against every instinctive urge to stop him.   
  
If nothing else, the town playboy was not stupid. My heading out into the night, on new legs no less, could potentially be the biggest mistake of my life. I could easily be defeated and used against my father and Luke and all the rest of the clan. That my running about in the night, with no idea what I'm doing could put what little future left in my life at jeopardy. And that Luke would be very unhappy with me if I were to do something as stupid as to believe otherwise. But it didn't make me want to go out there with him any less.   
  
To say that I'm scare stiff would be putting it mildly. God, I just want to crawl into bed and wake up tomorrow morning to discover that this was all just a bad dream. But that's not going to happen. My sweating palm and the tingling fear down my spine pretty much tells me that any point of this being a nightmare was just a pipedream.   
  
I walked into my father's room; the one I knew was possibility the safest room in the house. No balconies or trees for people to climb in from. Double latched windows that were reinforced with alloy window coverings. My father literally made the room impenetrable from the outside. It was the perfect place for me to be.   
  
So why do I want to run down the stairs and throw open the front door?   
  
Easy, cause everyone I care about was out there. In the night. In the darkness. In danger.  
  
"Oh hell," I muttered as I shut the light in the room and went to stand by the window. Like Luke, like Kanin, I knew how to keep watch.   
  
The night was heavy with fog that swirled around the house. It was like a scene from an old Hitchcock film. I was eerily silent except for the sounds of nature penetrating the gloom of the darkness. Nature at its most deadly. Even from up here, I can hear the sounds of the battle below. My eyes strained to see the fog hidden bodies of the wolves locked in life or death fights.  
  
I shouldn't have been able to tell... but I did. I shouldn't have been able to see... but I do. He leapt into the shadows from the porch, fierce and deadly. Every inch the male dominate. He could easily be mistake as the Alpha with his natural state of command if not for his age. Those powerful jaws open in attack as he disappeared from sight.  
  
For a heart-stopping moment, I had the most unfound fear that it would be the last time I see him. Swallowing the cold taste of panic, I took a deep breath and glanced down at the cocked and readied gun in my hand. Somehow, it suddenly felt wrong.   
  
It was wrong.   
  
This was all wrong.  
  
Even knowing the anger and fear it was going to install, I didn't pause. Putting the safety on the small handgun, I placed it slowly and silently on my father's pillow. It was the only place for it tonight.   
  
"This is pack business," I whispered firmly to myself as I pulled the tee shirt from my back. "It has to be handled the clan-way."   
  
Kicking off my shoes, I paused to wonder if I should be doing this in my room instead. Just when I thought about picking up my discarded clothes and head toward my own bedroom, the howl of angst ripped through the night.   
  
Panic came on winged feet. And everything was thrown to the winds.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
The night was the enemy now where once it was a friend. Even with my hyped up senses, the darkness and fog obscured much of my surroundings. I relied on other sense other than sight to guide me. It didn't take long for me to find the fighting... how could I miss it when I heard the unnatural sounds of flesh tearing? It sent a chill through me.  
  
Father taught me well. He knew that I would need the skills to distance sanity and rational from my emotions when this time comes. Pushing back the fear, I leapt onto the enemies' backs, jaws clamping viciously on fur and muscles, silently praying that I do not feel the sting of the attack. I would definitely not enjoy being on the receiving end of what I'm dishing out now.   
  
*Luke, behind you!* David's warning came almost too late for me to turn in time to catch the charge before it knocked me off my feet. Fortunately, my head was a lot harder than most people suspect it to be. Deflecting the blow, I felt the low rising anger from the pit of my stomach.   
  
The clan had agreed, every member had agreed that there would be no blood shed tonight. They would obey by the decision of the whole. Yet here I am, life and death hanging in the air. Hoping to whatever god you want to believe in that Sophia was safe and that this night would not end with deaths.   
  
*Where's Sophia?* Jamie asked, her furry head turning to watch her mate take on another. The gleam of fury was clear in her eyes. She wanted to help her husband and lover but duty called her first. And if there was anything taught from the cradle, it was the survival of the pack came first.   
  
*She's safe,* I replied, jerking my muzzle toward the raging battle as teeth flashed in the pale moonlight. *Go, he needs you.*  
  
There was only a moment of hesitation before Jamie was off, her teeth bared and eyes throwing daggers. She was female outrage incarnated. There truly was nothing more beautiful.   
  
I'd like to think that I would have seen the attack coming if I hadn't been distracted at the exact moment by the blood-curling cry of agony that filled the skies. Every member of the pack within the ten miles radius must have heard it.   
  
*What the hell...* the explosion of pain across my back obliterated any other thought from my mind. Skin and muscles tore at an alarming rate even as I became aware of it. It was like having acid poured on you, only a hundred times more painful.   
  
*Remember me, Pretty Boy?* Jason growled as I flung him off, more fur and skin ripping in the process.   
  
I could feel the warmth of my own blood across my back, down one shoulder. It was going to be hell putting all that back together again... if I live long enough for my body to start regenerating. Rule #1: Never show weakness. Rule #2: Distract your enemy whenever possible. * I had wonder where you'd and your kind skulked off to. What's the matter? The rats in the sewers didn't want you either?*  
  
*Keep talking, Pretty Boy. By the end of this night, you're going to be history.* He circled me, knowing that I was growing weaker by the minute. I needed time, time for my body to heal.   
  
*So says the fool that follows a guy that hides in the dark and can't accept defeat. Don't you know that everyone hates sore losers?* I need him to keep circling, give the others a chance to finish off his friend and come back to help. I was still bleeding, not as profusely as before but definitely still loosing blood. Jason may not be the brightest bulb in Creed's gang but he was strong, and fast. *You think the others will follow a loser like Creed? I don't think so.*  
  
*To the winner goes the throne, kid. Rule of the pack,* they threw back at me, his jaws showing teeth again. He was getting ready for another round. The wound was almost closed over, not quite but almost.  
  
*Rest of the pack also decided to obey by tonight's vote. Don't see that happening now, do I?* I put a little more distance between us, not much but enough to fend him off if I needed to. *Now who do you think we have to thank for that?*   
  
The errant boy wasn't up to doing the thinking. He obeyed orders and asked no questions. Creed always did know how to pick them. The charge was fast, almost too fast for me to block. Or it would have been had it not been for the litter interference none of us was expecting.   
  
Jason's big gray body sailed through the air with enough speed and force that he wasn't able to catch himself before slamming rather awkwardly against a tree. The crunch of bones breaking announced that the fight was over. At least for Jason.   
  
The ghostly pale figure blended just a little too well with the tendrils of fog that curled around everything. *Luke, are you all right?*  
  
I wanted to groan in frustration. *What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go upstairs?*  
  
*Hello to you too Sophia. Nice night we're having here,* came the sarcastic reply. *Oh by the way, thanks for saving my life.* Her big golden eyes rolled in her fierce face.   
  
Her sense of humor comes at the oddest times, I swear. *No time for that,* I replied, eyes already scanning for danger in the shadows. *You're exposing yourself to...*  
  
*Don't,* she warned, baring teeth. *I'm not some helpless little girl that needs you to protect her. I know what you said, I heard it. I just cannot accept it. My dad needs me. I'm going to go to him now. No one tries to hurt my family and gets away with it.* Her head cocked to one side, listening for the approaching feet. *Friend or foe?*  
  
*If I non-friendly, you'd be dead,* Jamie answered, her eyes flashing with satisfaction. *Threaten my man, will they?*   
  
*Now they know better, dearest,* Fredrick Leamine replied, his muzzle cover in blood. A long gapping wound was raw and ugly on his flank. *You all right, Luke?*   
  
*A little embarrassed at having been caught off guard, but otherwise wise fine,* I wanted to lay down somewhere and take a quick nap. You generally heal faster in R.E.M. sleep. Hum... I was paying attention in physiology after all.   
  
The cry of anguish that rippled through everyone's awareness had us all looking toward the skies and whining in sympathy.   
  
*That didn't sound like an ordinary cry from flipping,* David observed as he came from the fog, licking blood from his nose. *Who was that?*  
  
Sophia turned to me, her eyes asking me whether it was wise to share with the rest of the pack the little surprise we got tonight. Heck, some of them might not even know about Ruby's choice of mate yet. You just know there is going to be uproar over that little decision. Now was not the time, too many unknown factors to deal with tonight. The last thing we need is to worry about history in the making.   
  
*Area is secured,* Derek announced as he came forward, eyes narrowing at the sight of Sophia. *What are you doing out of the house?*  
  
*Pack business, I had to help,* she answered simply.  
  
If I still had lips, I'd kiss her smack in the mouth. It was beautifully and simplistically done. *So you want to return to the house? Or you want to go after your dad and kick some bad-guy ass?*  
  
Her eyes were twinkling when she turned them toward me. *Is that even a question I need to answer?*  
  
Jamie let out a howl of delight. *Oh, I'm going to like having your around, Sophia. Welcome to the pack!*  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Okay, we're going to leave these two alone for a while. Hope you all enjoy that. Now back to the plot line. 


	25. Chapter 25

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Note: I apologize for the long delays and the slow updates, things are a little crazy. This particular chapter took a rather strange turn for me...I blame it on Sapphira and her wonderful writing that makes me aspire to be worthy. I didn't expect to be writing this long of a story but I do hope that you are all enjoying the ride. I should be concluding this soon... three or four more chapters to go. Thanks for reading!!!  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
I cursed.   
  
I cursed the gods. I cursed my father. I cursed his father. And what's more, I cursed the fates that seemed to enjoy their little sadistic games.   
  
All my life, there was this big hole somewhere in my soul just waiting... waiting for something to come along and fill it. Then, when I finally screwed up enough courage to run off for a while, I find this beautiful man, this perfect completion to that emptiness inside of me. My past, my life, came back and took that perfection away for a while and I thought I would just shrivel up and die. And just when it seemed like its there wasn't going to be light at the end of the dark tunnel, he walked through the shadows carrying a mega watt maglite and bring such unbelievable splendor back into my heart.   
  
But the fates are cruel, playing these games of life and death, joy and sorrow, with me. Just when I thought I had won, that I could be happy and complete and... normal, they threw me this curve ball that I can do almost nothing to overcome.  
  
I wrap my body around his, feeling his convulsions. *John.*  
  
His hand tightened over mine, elongated nails unconsciously cutting through my skin. I felt no pain but his. *It's okay, I'll be okay.*  
  
"Of course," my voice felt loud in a whisper, even to me and I was startled by how it shook. "Was there an alternative solution that I was suppose to know about?"  
  
Something deep and dark erupted from his throat as his eyes opened to see nothing, glowing with the power from within. He body jerked, almost throwing me off of him in the process. The animalistic strength that came with the change was beginning to show itself. For a moment there was silence as he held on to the inner pain, letting it ride over him. His tense body was solid, like a rock, every muscle tightening against the agony.   
  
When the wave subsided, he turned to me, eyes glazed with aguish. He was suffering, not because of the pain, but because I was watching him suffer. Reaching up, he touched my cheek with a hand that no longer resembled anything human. But either of us noticed. *I love you, Ruby.*  
  
Those three little words that live and die for, tore out my heart now. It was as if he was saying goodbye to me, letting me know that it was all worth it. The absolution was in his eyes, his tone, telling that when he was gone, he wanted me happy. I shook my head at him, refusing his silent acknowledgement of the grave situation at hand.  
  
Crushing his mouth against my own, I didn't answer him for a moment, letting him taste the answer on my lips. The growl started deep in my throat, forcing its way to the surface. *You are a survivor, John Kanin. You are going to beat this and let the rest of this town know that you are one of us. No one, nothing, not even fate, is going to keep us apart. I won't let it. You have to hold on. You just have to hold on.*  
  
His paw, claw and all, tangled into my hair. His human voice was all but gone. "I want to stay with you."  
  
My breath caught in my throat. "Then do it. Stay with me. Fight for me. For us." Brushing back a lock of his rapidly receding hair and growing fur, "You have to move with the flow of the change. Don't fight the urge no matter what it is, just let it happen. Feel your inner self merge with your human rational. Don't try to separate the two."  
  
The hair across his shoulders and face were already beginning to form at a reassuringly rapid pace. *I don't know how.* The pain wave hit him before he had a chance to hear my answer. His cry ripped across the silent plains of my mind, pulling me into his agony.  
  
The tears hit my hand before I felt them on my face. I cry cause I knew there was nothing I can do.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
"Ahh...." His voice was hoarse from the cries now. Human cries gave away to wolven howls of pain intermittently.   
  
It was tempting, oh so tempted, to go in there to see. The howling is becoming almost too painful to listen to. The agony of the first time is immeasurable, even for those of us that have lived through it. With each gut-wrenching cry wrought sympathy pains.  
  
I can close my eyes and still remember the sheering of the flesh from the first transformation. So cocky, so young, so sure I would have no problems going through the transformation, all of fourteen with my life ahead of me. By midnight, I was begging for death.   
  
"Coffee?" Sherman stood in the dark shadow of the porch, hands around the steaming mug that threw tendrils around his aged and lined face. I can remember him just this way, wise and wily, when I was just a teen. "Might make the wait easier."  
  
"It is never easy," and turned back to stare into the night.   
  
Violence hung heavy in the air, so thick now that I could taste it with the tip of my tongue. Creed's following may not be as big as he wanted it to be, or needed it to be, but they were young enough, vicious enough and sadistic enough to cause a world of trouble. Matt's people are good, very good, and they're willing to die to preserve the pack. The two things in Matt's favor right night are both indisposed. Ruby with her new husband and Sophia... well, Sophia was his daughter. Matt's first priority will always be to her. Unlike Willard, I don't see Matthew Donner sacrificing his family for the clan. Not his precious little girl.   
  
"Is it me or is he getting worse?"  
  
I turned to watch Sherman for a moment. His eyes were the same pale brown, almost golden but not quite. There as something in them that gave me cause. "It's always worse before it gets any better."  
  
"Maybe."   
  
Another cry ripped through the silence of the night ... but this time, it came from within. Every member within ten miles should have heard that.   
  
"Hum..." Sherman's head turned to the door as a howl, a female one, echoed though the night, high pitched and urgent. "He's crossing over."  
  
"What are his chances? And don't skirt around the history, give it to me straight," I needed to know. Ruby was going to be one dangerous woman if Kanin doesn't make it through. Her wrath could very well tear the clan apart. There wasn't going to be anywhere Creed and his followers can hide from her. And knowing Donner, he'll do what is necessary to keep the peace, even if it meant bringing Ruby down. "I need to know how to deal with it."  
  
"Relax, not your job to deal with any of this. You're not Alpha, nor are you Alpha's wife, this isn't your responsibility."  
  
I know logically that Sherman didn't set out to hurt me with those words, but nevertheless it did hurt to hear them. But he was right. I am neither Alpha nor Alpha's wife anymore. And while I'm sure I still have my own following among the pack, my powers have diminished, especially with the return of Ruby and the emergence of Sophia as a white.   
  
The next howl was purely male and tasted powerful in the winds. It was less pain and more confusion in it. Like coming awake after a horrible nightmare and not knowing where you were. "Is that..."  
  
Sherman's teeth gleamed in the pale moonlight just as the clouds passed over, throwing the world into the shadows once more. "You know what I love about being me? I get to see all sorts of strange and ..." The door flew open, crashing against the wall, forcing Sherman to back up a step.   
  
Ruby stood in the frame, her gray dress torn and stained, her eyes glowing with the kind of power that you feel from deep down, drawing those around her into the primal state of being. I could feel the call of the wild from her, beckoning me with soft voices and gentle hands. It wasn't until now that I realize just why white wolves are so revered.   
  
She turned slowly, feeling her the area with her senses, tracking movements in the shadows and getting her bearing. When her eyes finally rested on Sherman, he grinned. "Well?"  
  
Lips that had only earlier been painted a vibrant red, moved without sound for a moment. Her eyes were full of awareness yet seem to see nothing. For a moment, she was somewhere else. Then, "You're going to want to see this." Turning without waiting for a response, she disappeared into the gloom of the cabin.  
  
I followed Sherman in, trampling the shiver of fear in my spine. There wasn't anything in here to hurt me... not really. So why did I feel like my world was about to be to turned upside down.  
  
Sherman stopped in the doorway to the bedroom; his wide shoulders all but blocked the entrance and view. I prodded him gently with my fingertip and he turned to me with wide eyes. For the first time, I think Sherman was stunned to silence.   
  
Crossing the room, Ruby had sat herself on the edge of the bed, her body turning, curling toward the figure in the middle of the mattress. Large black body lay there, panting with exhaustion and energy spent, its head rested against the pillow, muzzle lightly being stroked by his wife.   
  
I didn't understand, didn't know why Kanin turning out to be a mountain black wolf would be such a stunning revelation. Richard had been a black, solid and strong, his son would naturally take after him. I walked into the room to get a better look at the newest member of our family.   
  
And then John Kanin lifted his head and turned toward me, silvery gray eyes pinning me to the wall. Shock ran threw me... and I understood.  
  
Head to toe black, John Kanin had one very particular marking and set him apart from the rest of us. Sitting dead center on his brow was a diamond, four corner and solid white.   
  
Taylor Creed wasn't going to be the one to split the pack... that particular honor would be John Kanin's.   
  
TBC....of course. 


	26. Chapter 26

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Note: Went on vacation, didn't get any writing done. Apologies for the long delay.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Kanin's POV-  
  
I use to love watching the Twilight Zone with my father as a kid. It often fascinated me to see the possibilities in life, or the imagination, and pretend that I was part of that wondrous life. Every week, we entered the Twilight Zone where fantasy took us away from the dullness of reality.  
  
Now I'm living in the Twilight Zone.   
  
Who ever said waking up with animalistic sense was like coming alive for the first time was lying through their teeth... or just plain never done it. It was more like coming out of sensor deprivation for six hours and feeling the bleak coldness of the world around you. It has like having a hand smash into your guts and rip out your spine from the inside. It was like someone poured gasoline on you, lit a match, let you burn until you want to die then dropped you into the artic ocean.   
  
In other words, it was that bad.  
  
Than those beautiful silver gray eyes turned to look at me. *John?*  
  
And the world just stopped on its axis. *Am I dead yet?*  
  
The soft giggle of delight told me that I wasn't. *How do you feel?* her hand brushing against my side tickling the soft fur on my underbelly.   
  
*Not too great, Honey,* I answered honestly, working my limbs a little to make sure I was still in one piece. A piece of what was the question now since I could clearly make out fur and paws, not to mention I can see my nose pretty clearly and had the most insane urge to lick the coldness from it.   
  
*The pain will ease with a little time and everything else will fall into place,* her hand stroke my muzzle again, and I turned my head in pleasure... just in time to see Sherman Blackstone and Vivian Cates come through the door. For the first time since I met the old coot, he seemed completely without sarcastic comment. For a moment, I was tempted to make a smart-ass remark, and then I saw Vivian Cates's face. *Okay, it's never good news when you people have nothing to say.*  
  
They exchanged glances, not muttering so much as a word. Then Sherman shook his head, "Boy, when you decide to make history, you go all out don't you?" Coming to the bed, he reached out a hand to touch me then pulled back when I took a quick nip at it. "Hey now, didn't anyone tell you that that's impolite?"  
  
*No,* I replied with all seriousness. *I didn't grow up with a mother that expected to teach you the proper manners of a cub.*   
  
*How do you feel?* Vivian asked, her eyes lighting in the dim room.   
  
*Like I caught a ride with the devil on a school bus and just got dumped on my ass,* I replied, shaking out the stiffness in my body and getting up on all fours.   
  
"Nice to see you are recovering," Sherman sat down on the bed and looked at me with that god-awful grin. For a moment, I thought he was about to start with me again, but there was something in that man's eyes, something almost... almost fearful. "Can you move all right?"  
  
I kept watching him, watching those steady eyes that seemed to say something and nothing all at the same time. *I can get around if need be, why?*  
  
"Sheriff Donner is going to need back up," Ruby explained as she shed her dress, uncaring of her nakedness in front of everyone. She rolled her head back, her body dropped to beneath the bed, a soft groan escaped from her lips as he body doubled over and contorted. Watching her transform, it was so... so beautiful. So natural. Her icy blue eyes stared up at me. *He backed me, now I've got to back him.*  
  
*We,* I pointed out gently, leaping from the bed to land beside her, carefully keeping Blackstone and Vivian Cates within my view. No telling what is going to happen if I let those two get too close. One was dangerous in her own rights... and the other could drive me insane. *'We' have to back him on this cause 'we' are definitely in this together.*  
  
"Of course," Vivian Cates stood, her heavily beaded dress dropping to the ground with a heavy thump. "We must always back our Alpha; keep the clan united. No matter what the future brings into our lives."  
  
Something about the ways she said it, the way she was watching me with her unwavering eyes that made me think that she was speaking to me... warning me... threatening me. But now was not the time to analyze what bizarre things are running through that woman's head. I didn't need the headache right now, not with everything else that's going on. And I can see from Ruby's eyes that something bad was happening.   
  
This night just keeps getting better and better... God help me, I'm almost getting use to this crap.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
There was nothing like the metallic taste of blood on your tongue to remind one that life was a struggle, especially for us that were born of the blood. And especially now. Creed, the little arrogant bastard, was smarter than he looked. His trail was full of his little lackeys, knowing that they would slow me down and wear me out. And he probably also know that I wouldn't kill them, not if I want to keep this pack thriving. Of course, that's not what he had in mind for me and mine.   
  
Catching Clive Forefield on the flank, I forced him down and kept him down with kick from the hind legs to his noggin that would have him seeing stars for days. *Spread out. He's got to be close now. Find him, flush him out, but remember that he's mine.*  
  
I watched the shadows around me danced as we moved in semi circular fashion, widening the search perimeters. Our instincts are very human in nature, we calculate and apply what we know. Doesn't necessary mean we see everything but we different aren't that different from those we shelter our lives from.   
  
*Feels like the old days, doesn't it?* Freddy asked, his eyes glittering in what little moonlight could be seen through the fog.  
  
*Too much like so,* I wanted this done. Though I hate the fact that I may very well have to kill tonight, if push came to shove then that's what I have to do. My guts churn at the thought. Some leader I turned out to be, first night and the entire pack is in chaos. Oh why couldn't have just picked someone else... like Vivian.   
  
God, a part of me wishes she were here. No matter what's been said and done, she's always had the ability to talk me around and inside out until I was sure of something... whatever that may be. I needed that right now, some kind of certainty since everything was going to hell in a hand basket.  
  
*Two o'clock!* came the warning that I knew was going to be too late as I caught the sudden change in the air current without my nose. Knowing that it would be wiser to catch the hit with my shoulder instead of letting whoever get a chance to hit the soft side of my body, I turned.  
  
The streak of white, blending in with the dense fog, caught my eye just before my enemy realized what had happened. A crimson streak followed the two grappling bodies in mid air just before the big gray hit the tree trunk with a thud. That had had to hurt... bad.  
  
Not giving him a chance to recover, the white was on him, powerful hind legs that was use to leaping over forest grounds delivered a blow that would make the Raider's kicker proud. Turning, the blue eyes focused on me for a moment. *Dad, you all right?*  
  
I think I blanked out for a moment. No, I'm pretty sure I did. I had expected Ruby. *Sophia?*  
  
*You expecting someone else?* she asked, tongue licking the coldness of her nose. *Oh wait, you thought I was...*  
  
*You're suppose to be safe and...*  
  
*Dad, can we not do this right now? Cause in cause you haven't notice, there are a lot of people out there right now and you're embarrassing me.*  
  
*Embar....* I turned and watch a big gray grapple with a smaller one. But where are the big one had strength, the little one had agility. *LUKE!*  
*One second,* came the reply from the smaller of the two grays. A vicious clamping of jaw against bone and the bigger one was down. Trotting over while licking blood from his face, Luke seemed rather chipper for someone I was about to tear to pieces. *How's it hanging!*  
  
I swear to god he was grinning like a manic little puppy that I just know he is. *What the hell is Sophia doing here?*  
  
*Hello? Am I even still here?* my little girl was nothing if not a modern woman of decisively forceful attitude. *Why does everyone insist on talking over me like I don't matter?*  
  
*You matter,* I touched my muzzle to hers, fearing for a moment that she was going to disappear with the fog that shrouded the woods... just as her mother had disappeared from me. *You most assuredly matter to me. Which is why you have got to get the hell out of here? This is no place of you.*  
  
*But it's okay for you to be here,* sarcasm did not become her. *Forget it.*  
  
*Sophia, I don't have a choice in the matter here. You do.* I swung, watching the shadows danced. More of my people are here, taking some of the heat from those that have fought with me so far. *I want you to leave. Let me handle this without the extra worry that you are going to get in the cross fires here.*  
  
*No freakin' way am I just going to turn tail and run like some scared little girl... er...pup.* She turned her head, head high and hose sniffling the charge air that seemed reluctant to let this night go. *You stay, I stay. We're family and we fight together on this. Remember...* her eyes turned back to me, sure she'd got something on me. *I'm part of this pack now too, remember?*   
  
I knew I was in trouble when I saw that same manic grin on her face as was on her boyfriend's....Luke's. Damn.  
  
The stubborn look on her face, even in her wolf form, was clear. And contrary to what she believes, I do know my daughter pretty well. Turning, I track the movements of the night. *Stay behind me and you get the hell out of here at first sign of anything that you cannot handle, we clear on that?*  
  
*Crystal, Daddy.* If I turned around, I could probably see her twinkling at me.  
  
*Luke...* I began.  
  
*I got it, I got it. First sign of problems, I cover Sophia's back and get her into the next county.* He probably would have saluted me if he still had his human arms. Smart ass kid.   
  
The shadows danced closer to us until I could make out their intentions. *We found Creed.*  
  
*Good,* I wanted this over with. *Anyone heard anything about Ruby or Kanin yet?*  
  
*Not since the howling stopped,* Jake answered, looping up behind me. *Think he died?*  
  
*Think Sherman saved him?* Frank asked.  
  
*He can't do that.*  
  
*Sherman has a funny way of seeing the world.* I replied dryly. That old goat had a strange way of dealing with the world.   
  
*Yeah, but even he won't be so...*  
  
I gave a howl of attention as I caught a familiar scent. *Enough. Sherman will do what he has to, he's the Keeper and not under our rules. And at this point, I won't be surprised at anything.* The scent was getting stronger how. *In the mean time, we have unfinished business with Mr. Creed.*  
  
TBC...  
~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	27. Chapter 27

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Acknowledgement: For everyone that's read this story so far. Thank you for sticking with it.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
The woods smelled like violence, new but familiar. Dad is nervous cause I'm here and Luke's enjoying it. Me... I'm a little disturbed by the fact that while I don't personally know what the hell I should do in this new skin of mine but my body seem to know exact what is expected. It's almost like I'm living outside of myself and watching someone else take control. Freaky.  
  
Another thing that's freaky about tonight: my dad. Talk about the big bad wolf.   
  
Am I impressed?   
  
Hell, yeah!  
  
You know you always think that your parents are such dorks, so out of touch with your time and totally not cool. Well, all of that still applies to Dad where his human side is concerned, I mean those flannels have just got to go, but like this... full of life and energy and barely suppress power that you can almost see, it's like having the George Clooney of the wolves as your dad.   
  
And his followers... talk about a tight knit group. Waiting from the dark, I can see that even after everything I've heard about my dad's followers, it was nothing compared to what I see now. They were of all sizes, all colors of life, all the different factions that you usually see in town. The rich, the poor, the young, the old, the saints, the devils, the troublemakers. Yet here they were, united behind my father... it kind of humbled me to know that he had that kind of power, almost makes me look at him different.   
  
*You all right?* Luke's nose nudged me gently. He's been doing that a lot all night. Maybe he was getting use to this new scent of mine.   
  
*My dad... do you think that... He's strong enough to...* I turned to look at Luke. *He can win, right?*  
  
*Yes,* he answered without hesitation. Whether it was because he believed it or he was just making me feel better, I wasn't sure. But if he was lying to me... I can only be thankful for it.   
  
I looked around, watched two of the bigger wolves circle my father, conferring with him. I couldn't hear what they were talking about; they didn't want to share. Whatever it was, I knew that my dad probably didn't want me knowing too much. Some part of him must still want to keep me innocent. Forget the fact that I have tasted blood in my throat.   
  
*We're moving,* Jamie commented as she came up beside us. *Looks like the Alpha is going to dish out some real pain tonight.*  
  
I wondered with wolves shiver with fear cause I'm pretty sure I did. *Do you think that... that he'd have to kill?*  
  
*Honey, Creed's left him no choice now. Survival of the fittest withstanding, he challenged the Alpha position. Your father's either got to back down as Alpha or kill him. That's the way of things, our way.* Her eyes watched mine for a moment, her knowingness making me nervous. *It's just the way it's always been.*  
  
*But your father was trying to change that with the democratic way of things,* Frederick offered, his muzzle rubbing gently against his wife's. He seemed to be seeking comfort in her warmth and she was more than willing to offer it to him. The ugly wound at his side was healing but still painful. *We had hoped.... But things are what they are.*  
  
*That'll change after tonight,* Jamie said, her long wet tongue licking the moisture from her husband's nose. *I can feel it in the hair.*  
  
*Really?* Luke said dryly. *All I can feel is cold, blood and pain.*  
  
*Don't knock woman's sixth sense, kid,* Frederick replied, rubbing his hose against his wife's. *They've been known to save the pack more than once.* His eyes shifted toward him for a moment, as if seeing more than what I am. A part of me wanted to turn, hide from those knowing eyes, but I knew better. Matthew Donner's little girl does not turn tail, especially if she's a white.   
  
Then the stir in the air cause everyone to pause, including my father. His nose lifted into the hair, tasting what's there. Everyone else followed suit.   
  
It was sweet, almost toothache worthy in it's purity of sweetness. It was soft, like down comforter in the middle of winter. It was... it was like nothing I imagine the others had ever experienced... and they said so.  
  
*What the hell is that?*  
  
*Certainly not Creed, that's for sure.*  
  
*Someone want to...*  
  
*Alpha, should we lead a section to...*  
  
*Perhaps Blackstone has some...*  
  
*Can you feel that?* Luke asked at a soft whisper at the back of my mind. *Can you taste it?*  
  
I nodded my muzzle, confusion in my eyes as I turned to him. *Luke, what is it?*  
  
That look of deathly calmness in his tawny eyes startled me. I've seen Luke exhibit many emotions, probably more than people thought he had, but I've never seen this one on him. He was awed. Whatever it was had him humbled by its powers that tugged at each of us. I could almost see him bowing his head in show of loyalty and submission. Lucas Cates looked like he's finally met his match.  
  
And it scares the hell out of me.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
Sophia's eyes looked for answers in mine, but I didn't have the answers to give her. Nothing to give her assurance that everything will be all right. How can I when I'm not sure of that myself.   
  
Everything was wrong here. Nothing was what it should be. Nothing is what I expect it to be.   
  
*Luke, what is it?* those soft eyes asked me.   
  
*Power,* was the only word I knew to describe it. Immeasurable power that thicken the air and made it hard to breathe. You can feel it drift over the back of your fur, rustling the tips until a shiver runs down your spine. You can almost hear the shift, feel it in the air as you stand there and taste the night. *Sophia, I think I'm going to agree with the sheriff now. You should get out of here.*  
  
Ever been burned by someone's gaze? Well, I can officially say that I have. It was so painful that I had to wince.   
  
God, I love her. She never ceases to amaze me.   
  
*If you think even for a second that I'm just going to...*  
  
*I don't think for a second that you're a coward, Sophia. I'm just saying that I'd feel a whole lot better if you weren't here when whatever it is gets here. I think we have our hands full and I don't need to be watching over you as well.*  
  
*I'm not helpless, as I have proven not once but twice tonight.* Her eyes sharpened dangerously. *I'm not going anywhere,* there was a finality in her tone that I would have probably sighed to if I wasn't wolf.   
  
*Then do me a huge favor.*  
  
*What?* suspicion thick in her voice.   
  
*Kill me now so I don't have a heart attack worrying about you?*  
  
She butted me hard on the side. *Not funny.*  
  
*Ouch... okay, you know what? That hurt.* Especially sense the wound at my side has yet to completely heal.  
  
*Serves you right,* Sophia tossed her head and looked toward her father, who was trotting over to us.  
  
Jaime grinned with delight. *You tell him girl. Don't let him walk all over you.*  
  
*You are so not helping,* I managed to get out before Donner made his presence known.  
  
*Ruby tells me that she's on her way,* he looks at Sophia, almost like he was marveling at how incredible she was. I know the feeling well. *Sophia, as your father, I have to ask again.*  
  
You know, I can almost see her giving him that grime smile. *And as your daughter, I would have to answer the same once more.* She moved forward, resting her head against his side for a moment, urging him to understand. *I know that you don't like it and I'm sorry about that, but you cannot protect me forever.*  
  
*No, I can't,* he replied sadly. *But it doesn't mean that I don't want to try as long as I live,* you can almost see him letting go just a little more with the understanding that his daughter isn't the small little girl she was just that morning. *Do me a favor.*  
  
*If it's the same favor Luke just asked me...*  
  
I wonder if I'm blushing.  
  
*I don't want to know about it,* Donner interrupted quickly, probably not wanting to know too much about his kid's sex life. *I want you to stay behind me, always. We got that?*  
  
*Dad...* The whining was unusual. Sophia almost never whine. Or maybe it's just with her father that she does that and... What am I saying? I want her to agree with him, that way we can sandwich her between the two of us.  
  
*Sophia, I'm still you're father and you're still under eighteen. You 'will' do as you are told.* That had a tone that was ominous.   
  
*Fine,* came the short reply. Did she just pout?  
  
Donner turned, his head lifted just as the next wave of thick power hit us all.   
  
Whoa.... It was like jumping into a warm pool of water, where movement was slow and everything just felt so incredible vivid. The fog around us seemed to have thickened, whirling slower as the rush of energy seem to crackle the air and both relaxed and alerted us at the same time. It was rather disconcerting... nothing seemed quite real anymore.   
  
*Luke?*  
  
Definitely unexpected. *Ruby?*  
  
*We're coming,* her voice was soft, almost haunting. One of the qualities about my sister was that she was so... eternal in both beauty and quality.   
  
Something wasn't right. Ruby loved Kanin to the point of insanity, for going against the clan was definitely a mark of a madwoman if ever there was one. Something's happened, even if nothing in my sister's voice gave away her emotions. She wouldn't have left our good detective's side unless...  
  
*Ruby? What's going on with Kanin?*  
  
There was silence in the air for a moment as I wait for her answer. It came almost reluctantly. *You'll see.*  
  
*Still alive?* I asked, already knowing the answer since Ruby didn't burst into tears or nothing. But then again, I've never seen my sister cry before.   
  
*Oh very much so,* came my mother's dry reply.  
  
There was definitely something up now. *What's going on?*  
  
*Good question,* Donner interrupted, eyes deadly sharp on my face but definitely not seeing me. *Someone want to...* Whatever it was he was about to ask was cut off by teeth and fur.   
  
*DAD!!!* Sophia lunged forward but was cut off when three more bodies collided with a flash of blinding pain.  
  
*Get off of him!* I can hear Jamie yelled in from somewhere over my left shoulder. I really wasn't paying much attention to her at the moment. My attention was one something a little closer to my heart. Scarlet trails of life essence oozed from between white fur in massive amounts, making me see red, in both sense of the word. Her howl of agony was lost to me as I charged, teeth sinking deep into muscles.   
  
No fear.   
No mercy.  
No conscience.  
  
Only one thought: no way in hell you touch my woman and get away from it.   
  
Simple as that.   
  
*Luke, stop! You're killing him!*   
  
Sophia's voice came through the thick darkness to jar me awake. One then did I realize that I had ripped out Jacob's throat and not even realized it. All there had been was the need to get him away from Sophia. Nothing more. *You all right?*  
  
Her eyes watched me, full of disbelief. *Is he dead?*  
  
I glance back at the rumpled body on the ground. *Yes.* I have no regrets.   
  
She said nothing, probably didn't know what to say for the first time in her life. But she doesn't look at me. It will take some getting use to, for her anyways. I knew I did the right thing even if she's not ready to accept it. The sound of grappling bodies across the clearing caught both our attention at the same time. It was hard not to considering the importance of it.   
  
The Alpha and the Challenger.   
  
This was going to be a fight of a....  
  
It was like getting hit with a wave of power, energy and light all at once. A streak of black that seemed to appear out of thin air, once part of the night now part of us.   
  
No one was more surprised by the new player than Creed and Donner.   
  
The black landed on top of the two struggling wolves; one brown, one gray, both bad to the bones for their own reasons. Forcing the two to part, the black took a stand between the two, watching for any sudden movement.   
  
Blacks were rare. And the last time I checked, there wasn't a complete black in our pack. So where did....  
  
The black turned sideways, positioning his body to face Tyler Creed but never turning his back completely to Donner. He growled low in his throat, taking a protective position over our newly elected Alpha. The stand was unmistakable. Just as Ruby's appearance to stand by the black was unmistakable.   
  
My sister sure knows how to make an entrance and get attention. She turned her pale body toward the Alpha, bowed her head in show of respect and turned to rested her side against her mate's, a united front. *With your permission, Alpha. My husband would like to settle a score with Mr. Creed.*   
  
Color me shocked. Kanin, a full black. Well, not quite. There was that little white diamond on his forehead that distracts from... wait, a diamond. Center of the forehead. On a black. That was familiar. Too familiar... Mr. Blackstone said something about it once in history class. What was it....   
  
Unfortunately for me, now was not the time to be contemplating it. There was still the standoff at hand. And a trembling Sophia at my side.   
  
Donner's eyes were steady, though I think he was probably reeling like the rest of us. *Permission granted.*   
  
It truly was a fight of a lifetime.   
~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC.... Obviously. 


	28. Chapter 28

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summery: Kanin's flipped and gone to the wild side. Creed is having his day in the sun. Donner has to contend with two oppositions to his status. And Ruby is about to make her stand. This is history in the making. And we're seeing it through Sherman and Ruby's point of view.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
History has always been the key to every future. Without knowing where we came from, how did anyone expect us to know where we are going? But one must always keep in mind that history is also written by man, what they record is what we get to see and learn from. And let's face it; facts can be easily twisted to created fascination, excitement and awe. But in this case, no amount of distortion is going to create the effects of that the truth would. Hell, not even I can make up something so... unusual.  
  
I have to give it to my ancestors, they managed to create this almost mystic aura around the Keepers that it really is hard for the rest of the pack to understand that what we do isn't something magical, isn't even hard; it was a matter of seeing what is and what is expected and making it what we want them to be. The mind is a powerful tool, and we Keepers have learned over generations to use them well to suit what is best for the clans.   
  
Take our current leader here: Matthew Donner could easily be the most powerful wolf of this generation. He has all the characteristics of an Alpha: strong, intelligent, logical, intuitive, reasonable, judicious and not bad looking in denim or fur either. He has this twisted idea, from probably since when he was a boy that I have some sort of magical powers that allows me to be what I am. In reality, he, like those before him, choose not to see what's right in front of their noses. They choose not to see with their minds but with their hearts. But because it suits my purpose, not to mention that it amuses the hell out of me, I let him and rest of them believe what they choose to.   
  
*You're not coming?* Vivian's voice, like silk against jagged rocks, rips through my musings. Her near golden eyes were watching the rapidly disappearing tails of our newest member and his extraordinary mate as they leave the safety of the cabin.   
  
"No," shaking my head, eyes still on Kanin as he lopped easily through the woods, as if he had been born to run. "I think I'll watch it from a distance."  
  
*A distance?* her voice, heavy with wariness, made me want to smile. Cannot very well give all my secrets away now, can I?  
  
"Go, if you want to catch up to them in time," I reminded her.   
  
The look she gave me... Oh if looks could kill, she'd get her wish.   
  
Waiting for a few heartbeats, as I felt the presence of our brothers and sisters disappear from around me, I took a deep breath. Centuries of knowledge, locked within and I still cannot figure a way to make the Alphas and their mates understand that it wasn't the Keepers job to tell them everything. It was their job to know everything.   
  
Tonight, history is in the making.  
  
It's a three-way race tonight for leadership tonight, most just don't know it: Donner, Kanin and Creed.   
  
Contrary to what Vivian and some of the others may believe, Tyler Creed is no weakling. He has more than enough potential to become the next Alpha; if the fates had been kind to him. But like most creatures with defects, his being the one of a dark heart, nature has a way of keeping them down. Had he been born into any other pack, had he been born of another generation, had he been born to face anyone but Donner or Kanin, Creed could very well be the next Alpha. And for my money, I'd say Creed would be the first to go tonight. He has neither the discipline of Kanin, nor the wisdom of Donner, nor does he have the patience of goodness.   
  
So the little guttersnipe was about to get his throat ripped out.   
  
And I think I'll go get a front roll seat to take it all in.   
  
Willard once mentioned to me that he's never seen me in wolf shape. I think I made some sort of comment about being shy. He laughed but let it drop. Thank goodness for some things. Had it been Matt that asked, I'm pretty sure that the nosy sheriff would have nagged me until I revealed something; which by tradition I'm not allowed to do. So, I'm glad it was Willard.   
  
Ever read Harry Potter? Those books just simply tickle me pink with amusement. Imagine, a world of wizards living, coexisting, with our own. Talk about art imitating life. Anyways, you know how in book 3 - the one with the prisoner of something or other - there were a certain class of wizards called... hum ... what were they called again? They were the ones that can change into animals at will. More specifically, one particular kind of animal.   
  
Well, the wolf packs aren't performing magic; that is just plain fiction. They merely live in a world where they can be in two kinds of state. Much like myself... Only, not quite.   
  
The basic reason that no one has seen me in wolf forms is.... Well, I don't think I've ever been one. We are what we are, and we're watchers. We don't get to choose this vocation, its simply ordained at birth. We watch and we record what we see. But to do so, we must be removed from the pack, to see it from a bird eyes' view.   
  
You get the picture?  
  
Good.  
  
Oh, and there they are. Three would be Alphas and the night of all possibilities.   
  
Ruby and Sophia were the most difficult to pick out, must be all this damn fog. But there was no mistaken Ruby's voice. *With your permission, Alpha. My husband would like to settle a score with Mr. Creed.*   
  
Wonders upon wonders, looks like there isn't going to be a three way fight after all. Well, that is if Matt is sensible and ...  
  
*Permission granted.*   
  
Ha! I always knew Matthew Donner was a smart man.  
  
And Tyler was not. *You want to play with the big boys, Kanin?* What is this? Third grade schoolyard taunt?  
  
*Shut up and fight,* came the most distinctive response.   
  
Oh, this is going to be good.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
My husband.   
  
I like that. It was... appropriate. Gave me this funny fluttering feeling in my breast when I think of him that way. My husband. I'm almost giddy with delight just thinking about it. Maybe it was a delayed reaction to everything else that has happened to us so far.   
  
I watch him, that gleaming black coat over tight, powerful muscles as he circled around Tyler. Did I ever think that Tyler Creed would make me a good mate? Did I ever think that the man would be good enough for me? Was I really ever that naïve to fall for a pretty face with a set of nice teeth? Yeah, I must have been.   
  
My father once said that you'll know when the right one comes along, cause your heart will tell you. He also said not to confuse love with lust; that the two emotions were quite different and easy to distinguish once you've experienced both. My father was right.   
  
Lust: that was what Tyler and I had. A good roll around earth and sweat. Nothing more than bodies and hormones being answered. A surface kind of emotions that were easily forgotten when the deed is done.   
  
Love: that's what John and I share. Eternal love. Perfect love. The kind of love that you feel deep in your heart, where you've buried the most intimate part of yourself and only reveal once in a lifetime to one other soul.   
  
My husband.   
  
I will never be tired to saying those words in my head, or in my heart.... Or at the top of my lungs.   
  
*You want to play with the big boys, Kanin?* The sounds of Creed's voice grates against my nerves. Had I really fallen for that in my absentminded youth? Shame on me.  
  
*Shut up and fight,* always to the point, my John.   
  
They circle each other slowly, my body tensing as the two bared teeth and claws at one another. John was big, bigger than I had ever expected him to be given his medium build in human form. He was powerful and had a natural grace and agility in his four-legged form that usually takes a teen the first couple of months to learn. But Creed was no blip on a map either. He was fast, powerful and more to the point, he had years of practice in his skin. They were more than a match for one another, and too equal for me to feel comfortable.   
  
And as much as I would love to step in and help my love, this was a challenge and John was the challenger. He was standing as our new Alpha's champion now, taking the fight of the leadership into his own hands. Plus there was that little incident back in the cabin.   
  
*You shouldn't have come, Kanin. You've got no idea what you're dealing with here. You should have just stood still and died in the woods like you were suppose to,* Creed called out, eyes steady on his opponent.   
  
*Are you always this annoying? Or do you save this charming side of your personality just for me?* John replied without a hint of humor, eyes never leaving his opponent's gaze. It literally was like watching a gunfight from the old west. Whoever twitches first would probably be the first to die.   
  
Were the rest of us holding our breaths while we await the first move? You bet your aunt Fanny's panties. Huh? Where the heck did that come from? Oh man, I knew my dad's stupid sayings were going to come back to haunt me one of these days.   
  
*You really think your big bad self is going to take me?*  
  
*Is this how you usually take down your opponents? You bore them to death with your yammering?*   
  
That's two for my John and zero for the creep with the bad hair.   
  
*GET ON WITH IT ALREADY, THIS WAITING IS MAKING A NERVOUS WRECK OUT OF ME!* I turned to glare at someone... I'm not sure whom but someone.   
  
But they were right; the suspense was getting to me and I'm not sure if...  
  
The breath caught in my throat.   
  
You really have to give credit where credit was due. Creed was incredibly fast, frighteningly so. But his aim could use a lot more work. The scratch across John's hind leg was superficial at best; the return bit he gave Creed could hardly be called that. Was it possible that John was trying to gnaw off that leg his teeth had clamped onto?   
  
The howls and growls were vicious, filled with every emotion imaginable. Anger, frustration, despair, pain, disbelief, elation, wretchedness, desperation... It was all there; so intermingled that I couldn't tell where one emotion ended and another began, or who each emotion was from. It was frightening to see so much and yet... understand so very little. You think you know your own world, understood where you stand and where you are going, but you don't know anything until you've experienced something that was like nothing you can imagine.   
  
In it's own way, the fight was beautiful, like a choreographed dance that was being preformed by the best. The twisting of bodies always fighting for control of positions. Limps that moved with precision, a kick here, a punch there, a jab that was meant to disorientate. The flashing of eyes... watching... waiting... seeing all too much and not quite enough. The sounds of teeth ripping flesh from bone, howling for victory.   
  
I died and was reborn a hundred times as I watch blood spill, emotions played out, and my husband express himself in the most primitive of rituals: a fight to the death.   
  
Somewhere between Tyler's jaw affixed upon John's hindquarters and John's leg catching Tyler in the right eye, it occurred to me that this wasn't about revenge anymore. It wasn't about Creed's goons coming after John with shotguns and four legs. It wasn't about John managing to marry me before Tyler even knew what was happening. It wasn't even about wounded prides and male egos.   
  
No, it had gone beyond that without my even knowing it.   
  
This fight was about two potential Alphas vying for dominance.   
  
And it couldn't have come at a worse time.  
  
There was no contest. I knew who was going to win this fight. I knew it in my heart even if legends and prophecies hadn't told me already.   
  
John was special. I knew that before I saw the star on his face. So very special; and destined by a simple mark on his forehead to rip this pack apart. I knew it even if he does not.   
  
I turned to watch Matthew Donner, the man that had offered his assistance to me without asking for anything in return. The man that had never asked for any loyalty from anyone but had managed to unit more than half the pack behind him with his code of honor. The man that I had just pledged my loyalty to hours ago. Our new Alpha.   
  
He was watching the fight with... I'm not sure what's in his eyes right now. There was... curiosity... resignation... fear? No. No, there was no fear there. There was... dread. Maybe not for himself but for what could happen to this clan, no matter who wins this fight.   
  
Again; no contest. The way Donner watched John, he already knew. Donner may have appeared to have turned his back on his wild side for almost two decades, but he knew his history better than anyone else around. He knew what was going to happen. And he dreaded it.   
  
I turned back just in time to see John shake Tyler off and managed to lever himself off a tree and come down hard on Creed's back, jaws locking on the back of Tyler's neck.   
  
And I hold my breath.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	29. Chapter 29

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Kanin's POV-  
  
The coppery sting on my tongue was barely registering in my mind as I lifted my head and howled at the full moon that hovered high in the sky even as dawn announced its arrival by the sliver of purple on the horizon barely seen through the dense trees that surrounded us. For a moment, I was lost in something... primitive, something I had never experienced in my life. Sanity, civility, humanity, morality; gone. John Kanin wasn't there. He, the human that lived all his life always questioning everything around him, knowing little and wanting so much more; he slipped easily away into the dark recesses of my mind. Something, someone else stood in his place... and I reveled in its power.   
  
It was almost frightening how quickly I can lose myself in it. What ever 'it' was.   
  
Then I turned my head and I see those eyes, like the brightest, most brilliant star in the sky. And I come down to Earth, to the angel that I had been blessed with in this mortal life. Funny... her very presence, her safety, her emotions... they can calm me and send me into rage with the same speed, the same understanding. She was everything.   
  
*It's over,* she says to me quietly, her muzzle against mine in the most natural way as I allow her peace to wash over me, easing the rage and pain that surged only minutes before.   
  
Turning my head, I looked at the body by my side, the one that had reverted to its human form. The one whose blue eyes still registered his surprise and dismay even as it glazed over with death. I should be appalled at myself by the very fact that I had killed for no other reason except that... that he needed killing.   
  
I also valued my sense of justice... of honor. This place I'm in, this pack that I've now entered, it was different. Different from everything I've ever known. The rules that that governed my life, it does not necessary apply to everything here. Right may no longer be good. Wrong may no longer be evil. Nothing was the same, nothing was... is...   
  
*It's okay,* same the whispered assurance. Warm breath brushed against me. *We'll make it okay.*  
  
I believed her cause I want to, cause I need to. And cause I know she won't lie to me, not about this.  
  
*I love you, Ruby.* I needed to hear the words, to know that it was still here.  
  
*I will always love you, John.* Her heart was in her eyes and felt the world turned right again.   
  
*I hate to interrupt,* the voice was deep, troubled by something dark. Sheriff Donner came, all four legs rigidly still on the ground. *But dawn is coming and we need to clear the bodies before the rest of the town wakes.*  
  
Ruby nodded her head, and looked at me. *They mustn't know.*  
  
I understood that. I understood more than I should.   
  
*Get moving people,* Donner yelled at the rest of the pack that were standing here, staring at him... no, at us. The eyes, those sharp deadly eyes weren't just on their Alpha. They were on me too, making all the fur on me stand up quickly and dangerously.   
  
*Relax,* Ruby warned me as some of them padded off to do what was needed. Some seemed to be having some trouble turning away. *Let me handle it.*  
  
I'm glad one of us knew what to do. *It's all yours, Babe.*  
  
She trotted off toward the ones that were still standing here, watching me. I had the most unfortunate sensation that they were waiting for me to do something. What that something was is completely beyond me.   
  
*You all right?* Donner asked, his eyes already doing a quick assessment.   
  
*Define that,* I told him as I licked a spot on my leg, then tried to spit. *Oh god, why did I just do that?!?*  
  
Donner chuckled, it was almost a relief to hear it. *Instinct. You can't help it.*  
  
*This is going to take some getting use to, isn't it?* I asked the licked the spot again without really knowing I had done it.   
  
*Yeah, especially for you,* he replied, eyes going to the group that sat at the edge of the clearing conferring quickly with Ruby. *Hum... it's already beginning.*  
  
*What?* I wanted to know. The troubled look in his eyes didn't bode well. I hate being in the dark. Really, really hate it. *What's wrong?*  
  
He shook his head, his sigh was full of resignation and regret. *Go home, get cleaned up and get some sleep. Molly and Drake will handle the station today. Come see me tonight, after dark, at my house. Bring Ruby and don't travel alone today. Don't talk to anyone else except your wife and Blackstone. We need to deal with this before any more blood is lost. We cannot afford for this to get out of hand, not after tonight.*   
  
*What are you talking about?* already I'm in a the twilight zone again. God, when am I going to catch up with the rest of the class. I have this awful feeling that he knows something I need to, something critical. Well heck, he probably does. And judging by the way the rest of the pack is watching me, I would say that that rest of the pack knows it too. So... again... I'm the only one that knows nothing. I getting sick of this. *Listen, I need to...*  
  
*Get some sleep,* Ruby interjected as she joined her. Her eyes held the same kind of as Donner's does. Not good sign. *Honey, I'll explain later. Right now, I just want to go home and make love to you.*  
  
The cynical side of me thinks that she said that just to distract me, cause all kinds of imagines popped up in my mind that had me thinking of everything other than the getting the answers to the questions that were burning holes in my head. The logical side of me said that she's scared and tried and needs sleep. And when I took a step toward her, all decisions were taken out of my hands.   
  
The sheering pain down my right side reminded me that I'd just barely survived a fight to the death. I turned to see that I was literally covered in blood and that gouge along my flank looked pretty bad. *Um... Ruby. I think that'll have to wait until this hole in my side is taken care of and I get over the urge to kill Tyler Creed again for doing this to me.*  
  
*Considering his dead and you're not, I think you can afford to forgive him,* V commented dryly as she approached quiet from our left. *The others are dragging the bodies over toward the East end. We'll need a story.*   
  
*Get Derek to handle it,* Donner said without turning. He was still studying my face. *It's time he earned his position as Beta.*  
  
*I'll get on it,* she murmured quietly, her eyes linger on us all for a second. There was something that flashed there, something dangerously, something directed at me. A warning maybe?   
  
Donner turned and watched for a moment. *She'll make trouble if we don't handle this quickly and quietly and smoothly,* he turned to Ruby. *Tonight, my house. We settles this before it blows up in our faces. I'll get Sherman.*  
  
Ruby nodded, looking like she swallowed something nasty. *This isn't how I had planned things.*  
  
*I know that,* Donner responded turning about, getting ready to head out. *But maybe it's for the best. Never wanted this job to be with.* Then disappeared into the woods with a powerful kick, spraying dirt and moss. There was something rather... beautiful about him. Strange.  
  
*John, let's get out of here. I think we deserve one good night's right after all this. Cause I don't think there's going to be anymore of those to come for some time,* she took off before I got a change to ask about that. And all I could do was follow as she headed unerringly back toward the cabin.   
  
What exactly am I to make of all of this?  
~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC....  
  
Author's Note: Hopefully this can be wrapped up in three more chapters. 


	30. Chapter 30

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Author's Note: Story is winding down and I'm hoping that this ending will be better than some of the ones I've done in the past. (sigh) Okay, onward with the story.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Donner's POV-  
  
I sigh as I sit slowly. The noon sun was high and I take moment to feel the warmth of it against my skin through the windows of my living room. I had only gotten back from overseeing the disposal of the twenty-six bodies that we managed to recover before the humans woke. There were still six unaccounted for and I can only hope that the others come across them first before someone else did.   
  
That must have been the longest night in history. Not to mention the most complicated one. Of course that's not to say that the fall out from it is going to a piece of cake. John Kanin is going to be in for a hell of a shock, as is the rest of the pack... assuming that there was actually someone that didn't get the news by the howl-mail last night.   
  
"Sophia!" I called, half expecting a six year old little pixie to come bounding down the stairway.   
  
"I'm here, Dad," she answered quietly from the kitchen door. She had a tray in her hand and her hair was a massive mess in a ponytail behind her. She had the look on her, the look of someone that had flipped. "I wasn't sure how late you'd be but I made you some breakfast. Not much but it's something." And sat the tray down in front of me, watching me with concern eyes. "Are you okay?"   
  
I didn't have to worry her, knew that in my head. But my heart had other ideas.   
  
Sophia. My little girl. My baby girl. My only child. A white. Wow, who would have thought such a thing was possible or even probable. Scratch that, Sherman probably did. Damn fool could have said something! When I get my hands on that know-it-all bastard...  
  
"I'll survive," I replied and patted the seat next to me. "This looks great, honey. Thanks."   
  
"I thought you'd be hungry by the time you get back," she smiled and tucked a stray lock back. "Luke practically cleaned the frig in sitting."   
  
"Is he still here?" I asked quietly, not really caring if he was. He did good last night, protecting Sophia. I won't forget that. Doesn't mean I approve of the two of them though.   
  
"I sent him home. I didn't think you needed to deal with Luke after last night."   
  
"Thanks, I appreciate it." The hot oatmeal looked good, she even remembered to keep the brown sugar to the side. She sat there, watching me, studying me. I wanted to ask what was wrong but I already knew that answer to that. It would take time for her accept me in this fashion, different but still the same. She's seen me at my... worst? Best? Who can tell?  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What's a 'Diamond Black?' And why Luke think that there's going to be trouble?"   
  
"Honey..."  
  
"So you're back," Sherman Blackstone stood in the kitchen doorway, grinning from ear to ear and holding a steaming cup in his hand. "Coffee? Hope you didn't mind, Sophia. But I've been up all right and this seemed like the sure way to keep me on my feet."   
  
"Where the hell have you been?" I demanded with more heat than I thought I had the energy for. Every muscle in my body ached from the shift. As natural as it had been to return to my roots, my body wasn't quite handling it as well as I had hoped. This was going to time some time to get use to again. "And where the hell were you last night?"  
  
"Around," Sherman answered nonchalantly, coming in and taking a seat across from me as if it was the more natural things in the world. If I had the energy, I'd reached across the table and smack him. "So, Creed's gone and you and Kanin are meeting tonight, are you?"  
  
I really hate it when he does that. "Is it all over town now?" I asked, ignoring the inquisitive look from my every curious daughter.   
  
"Only among the pack, though the local are wondering where their esteemed sheriff is."  
  
"I'm taking a sick day."  
  
"You haven't taken a sick day in fifteen years. What the heck makes you think anyone's going to buy that?" Sherman asked, with some irritation. "Come up with something better."  
  
I was just too tired to go a thousand rounds with the wily old man. "What do you suggest?"  
  
His brows went into the air. "Alpha for a night and already you're pushing responsibilities on to me? Took Willard a good six weeks to figure that one out." He turned to look at my daughter. "How are you feeling, Sophia?"  
  
She blinked big round eyes at him. "Fine."  
  
"Really?" he asked with exaggerated concern. "Cause you look kind of pale to me, a little under the weather. You sure you aren't feeling weak? Feverish maybe? Contagious to be sure. You won't want anyone near and dear to you to go out and spread it about now, do you?"   
  
No one ever called Sophia a dummy. Blinking for a moment, she suddenly coughed. "You know what? I think you're right." She held a hand to her cheeks and gave a great sniffle. "I think I'll call the diner and tell them that I've come down with something and won't be in today or tomorrow."   
  
"Wise decision," Sherman said then winked at her as Sophia got up and went to use to the phone in the kitchen. "Smart girl you got there, Matt."   
  
"Just like her mother."  
  
"Yes, looks like her too." Sherman sipped his coffee quietly and said nothing as I enjoyed the half cold breakfast made by my daughter's hands. The soft murmur and occasional coughing in the kitchen was the only sound that penetrated the thick silence until the Keeper spoke again. Gone was the easy affections, "What are you going to do, Alpha?"   
  
"Whatever it takes to keep this pack alive and thriving," came the standardized answer.  
  
"We're doing pretty good you know," Sherman said quietly. "Population has grown in the past two decades, and the younger ones are straining to get out more."   
  
"We've always been here, we'll always be here," I'm tired, too tired to argue with him. "It's us against them. We stick together."  
  
Sherman watched me with eyes that were older than time. I've wondered, since childhood, what goes on behind those eyes. "Are you really just going to sit there and recite text book answer to me?"  
  
"At the moment, I'm too exhausted to do anything more productive than that."  
  
There was another stretch of silence as just sat there sipping his coffee and staring at me. "Sophia will end up leading this pack someday. Probably with Lucas Cates."   
  
"I already knew that." And I did too. The minute I saw her snowy fur and big golden eyes. She's always been special and until that moment, I didn't realize how special. Maybe it had been wrong of me to keep her away from my roots but... God, how many hours at night did I lay there and fear that she would be trapped between our worlds? How often did I reassure Marie while her belly was swollen with child that I wouldn't let anything happen to our baby because of my past? But now, nature had chosen for us what path she will tread. "I'd hoped it wouldn't be with that kid but hell... they've pretty much taken that decision out of my hands haven't they?"  
  
"She's a white. He's..." Sherman grinned at me. "Strong enough."  
  
That look he gave me was supposed to take me to places that I didn't want to visit. She will always be my little girl. My baby girl. "I know that."  
  
"And you've accepted that as a couple, they'll probably be next in line for the leadership." He told me this in a rather odd question form that I wasn't sure I could answer. There was something there, something he wanted me to understand but I simply wasn't getting it. Damn old man, why can't he just come right out and say it.  
  
"We must be in real trouble if we need two whites to lead us," I commented making a face, the orange juice Sophia had given me was more bitter than sweet. She must have used those oranges pollinated by the lemon tree in the back yard. "Anything you want to tell me about that? Given that I am currently still the Alpha." But is going to change.   
  
He watched me again, those quiet steady eyes that were seeing more then telling. "Don't do it," he advised softly after a moment.   
  
"Don't do what?" I asked, already knowing the answer.   
  
He gave me a look that I didn't appreciate. "That bone-headed idea that's probably been rattling around your head since you saw that Ruby, our dear beloved only white until your daughter came along, married herself a genuine diamond-black. First in..." he stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Oh... four centuries? At least in this pack."   
  
I didn't reply. I didn't need to. He already knew that truth of it. Sherman may be the biggest pain in the ass that I've had to deal with but he was smarter than everyone else in this pack ever gave him credit for. It was a pity that so few people see just what kind of man he was. Maybe it was his position among us... or because of it.   
  
"You're making a mistake," he tell me.   
  
"It's for the best."  
  
"Is it?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"And cause you're Alpha, you must be right." Blackstone rolled his eyes at me.   
  
"I never claim that. And I do what I think is the best for the pack, just as any Alpha would." I sighed and glanced at the door to the kitchen. Sophia probably already knew that it was wiser not to interrupt. "I've read the history books. I know the stories. Last time there was a diamond-black, half the pack perished in the fight."  
  
Sherman said nothing but got up slowly. "I assume I'll be needed tonight?"  
  
"I would appreciate it," I replied, a little relieved and a little disappointed that he didn't argue the point with me.   
  
"Do me a favor," as he paused at the front door.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Make sure Sophia, Luke and Vivian Cates are there as well. Oh and read these before the meeting," pulling several small leather bound books from behind his back.  
  
The man never ceases to amaze me. "Where did these come... never mind. It's not like you're going to tell me anyways," I took the books with a sigh and studied them. They were each maybe half an inch thick and the same width and length as normal hardbacks. No title or markings of any short to indicate what they were. "Why are these so..." When I looked up, the doorway was empty and I was talking to myself.   
  
I hate it when he does that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Vivian's POV-  
  
Diamonds. So fine, so rare, so powerful, so perfect: exactly what was needed tonight. For something this important, diamonds are the only way to go. My mother always said that you must dress every occasion no matter how big or how small the occasion. Heck, my mother's been known to stripe for those same occasions as well.   
  
I watched reflection in the mirror as I dress. For a woman with a nearly grown son, I'm considered to be quite well preserved. But then again, we age so much more differently than the humans do. Take Sherman for instances, god only knows how old that man really is. I can see remember him exactly the way he is today from when I was but a child. Perhaps because he was the Keeper that he... oh damn it.  
  
Chiding myself for the useless habit of allowing my mind to wonder when I have other pressing concerns on my mind, I pulled too hard at the straps of the shoes I had planned on wearing tonight and broke them. My favorite pair too. Willard had give them to me last year when he told me of the cancer, thought they would soften the shock of it, as if anything could. But that was Willard, always considerate of my... needs.   
  
Taking a deep breath, I held it for as along as my body would allow and let it out with great relief. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, more from what may happen tonight if I do not miss my guess than from having held my breath for too long.   
  
"Are you about ready?" Ruby's voice came from the open doorway.   
  
I turned to look at my stepdaughter. Even in her human form she was something special to look at. They say the white wolf is a descendant of the goddess of the moon, which certainly does fit Ruby well. There was something hauntingly ethereal, almost supernatural, about her that seemed to transcend both her forms. That heart-stopping luminous face, eyes like stars in the night where we roam as wolves and a voice that was meant to seduce a man into oblivions. The mystical white wolf.   
  
Willard always called her his angel, his precious gift from Regina, the one person that could evoke weakness in Willard after Regina and Amanda perished. I doubt even Luke or myself could have been as important to him as his precious Ruby.   
  
Was I ever jealous of the place she held in my husband's heart? No. I never begrudged her that place; it was something I had to deal with, like many other things in my life. I was never allowed to be naïve about what I can and cannot have. Sure, there were still some bitter memories that I could never seem to shake but hey, we all have them right?  
  
"I'll be down in a minute," I turned to shuffle through my shoeboxes. There had to be something in here that won't clash with my dress. "How is Mr. Kanin settling into his new home."  
  
I could hear Ruby move around behind me. The soft cushion swooshed softly as Ruby sat down on it. "We won't be here forever, you know, just until we can find a place our own. If Sherman thought it was safe for us to stay at John's cabin, we'd be there now."   
  
"You are more that welcome to..."  
  
"I don't want to be here any more than you want us here."  
  
Pausing at removing a pair of silver pumps from their housing, I glanced over my shoulder. "Is the truce between us over?"  
  
She was watching me with those silvery eyes that seem to see all too much and never enough. "If you think that I missed all those little covert looks you've been giving my husband, you don't know me nearly as well as you think you do." She crossed her arms, allowing the thin blue straps of her dress to tighten over the smooth muscles around her shoulders. "I won't let you hurt him."  
  
"I don't plan on hurting anyone," I replied quietly, removing the shoetree from the shoes. "I just want to make sure that everything is as it should be."  
  
"With Matthew Donner as Alpha of this pack," she said it more as a question than a station.  
  
What could I say in response to that? "Yes."  
  
"Well that's not going to change." Ruby's eyes were glittering now. "John and I are behind Donner a hundred and one percent."  
  
"That's still ninety percent short," she seemed more than willing to lay the cards on the table, why should I do any less. "We both grew in this pack, Ruby. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that just because your husband didn't grow up here that it changes anything in the minds of our brethrens. There are those naïve enough, foolish enough to walk blinding. Just look at last evening's events."   
  
She didn't answer. She didn't need to. No one ever called Ruby Cates a fool. "John and I just want to normal life."  
  
"We don't always get what we want, Ruby." And how well I know that. "Sometimes we simply have to deal with what we are given to the best of our abilities."  
  
There was a long pause as we stood across from each other in a room her father shared with both her mother and me. Her question was near a whisper, "Can he win?"  
  
"Kanin?" I asked.  
  
She nods her head.  
  
I want to say no. I truly wanted to say no, for my sake. But after last night... "I don't know."  
  
She nods again, silently thanking me for my honestly. She was watching me, assessing me even. I didn't feel any discomfort, any annoyance, were I in her place, I would do no less. She took a moment, her hand playing with the thin band around her fourth finger. "Would you support me if I were to announce my intentions to back Donner?" she asked, even knowing the answer.  
  
I almost smiled. For all the mystery and intrigue that surrounds her, in so many ways, Ruby was still just a cub. So young, so naïve. She didn't understand yet. Didn't know Matthew Donner half as well as I do. She had no comprehension of what honor and duty meant, not in the since that Donner did. "It's not me you have to convince."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
To be Continued..... (hee-hee) 


	31. Chapter 31

The Normal Life  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I said I was going to finish this by Chapter 32 and I will damn it. Even if I have to make these last two chapters epically long. Sorry about that, by the way. But I do hope that you find it enjoyable. I'll do my best to wrap everything up to everyone's satisfaction.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Sophia's POV-  
  
It felt like another wake only this time it was in my home and no one died... well, no one near and dear to me anyways. The Beta males had been trooping in and out of the house all day, some to ask questions about Kanin, which my father refused to answer; some to get instructions on back stories for locals on the dead bodies that littered the woods; once or twice to update their Alpha that they found another MIA and some to inform my father where they stand. What it was all about... I'm not all too sure. But the tension was thick though that I wonder why I haven't hurt myself yet just walking around.   
  
My dad's been quiet all day. The dining room had been unconsciously converted to a temporary office. There were papers, books, notepads, notebooks, and varieties of scrolls made of hide that I'm not sure I want to know from what animal they were from littered all over the place. The steady stream of coffee I've been feeding him all day didn't seem to make a dent in the exhaustion I can see in his face. He was tired... so very tired. There was an insane moment sometime around four in the afternoon that I wanted to kick the three guys in there out and help my dad into those ugly pj's he likes so much.   
  
"Can I get you dinner, Daddy?"   
  
He turned to me and I almost jumped. Those flaming eyes didn't seem to recognize me for a moment before he blinked and the ferocious look was gone. He went from Alpha to father in a split second. If it weren't for the raised hair at the back of my neck, I would have believed that I imagined it. "I'm sorry, Honey. Did you say something?"  
  
If I were a religious person, I'd cross myself. There was something horrifying frightening about my father in that second. "I... I wanted to know if you would like me to get you some dinner."   
  
With a sigh that came from somewhere deep, he glanced at his watch and winced at the time. "I guess it is getting pretty late now." He rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, the ways guys do, and glanced at the setting sun framed in the window. There was such regret in his eyes that I wanted to ask what was wrong.   
  
But even I knew better now. It really didn't take all that long to learn the ins and outs of the pack. Whatever was troubling my father, it was pack business and it was Alpha business. Little girls, daughters especially, shouldn't be asking about it. It was like handing a newborn a knife and telling them not to cut themselves.   
  
"No honey, I'm okay," he reached out and touched my face, the way he used to when I was a little girl. It brought me comfort to have something that familiar. "I better shower and change before the others get here."   
  
"Why don't I make you something then go to Jenny's and..."  
  
"Stay," he said quietly. "I want you here for this." He gave a soft chuckle that confused me before adding, "Sherman said it would be a good idea to include you, you are after all a white." He shook his head as if the idea was still foreign to him.   
  
Heck, it was still foreign to me.   
  
I swallowed, not really enjoying the idea that there was some path laid out for me before I even know it. So much for going to Italy for the summer. Doubt the pack is going to like that idea. Although, Ruby did take off for a while... of course she paid for that little act of rebellion pretty heavily, as did John Kanin.   
  
Kanin. Another mystery. This town seemed to be full of them. Nothing new I guess. Now if only someone will explain all of this to me.   
  
"Dad, why don't you shower while I make some dinner for you? You haven't really eaten all day and even I know that we, and yes I do mean those of us that go on fours, need lots of proteins for energy. Don't think I haven't noticed my increase in appetite since my change."  
  
He looked up me almost amused. "24 hours and already she thinks she knows everything. So like a teenager."  
  
"Keep it up and I'll being making boiled spinach for you instead of that nice steak I've been airing all day," I warned lightly as he got up.  
  
Those powerful arms that I tried to avoid everyday closed around me and enveloped me in a sea of warmth. I was safe here. I was protected here. I was love here. Until this moment, I didn't know how much I had and how much I can lose if anything... no, I wasn't going to think like that. My dad was going to be fine... if I have to kill every member of this pack to ensure it, I will.  
  
Whoa... There did that thought come from? But it was true, deep in my heart I knew it was. I'd be more than happy to stand between my dad and someone that tries to hurt him... or me... or Luke. I guess survival and love are pretty good incentives to rip a man's throat out. Luke would be so proud of me right now.  
  
"Go on," pushing him toward the stairs. "You're beginning to stink up the place."  
  
"Is that any way to talk to your father?" he laughed gently as he headed for the steps. "Oh by the way, honey, tonight is black tie, all official meetings are. Call the hotel and tell them I'll need the usual."  
  
I frowned at him. "The usual?"  
  
"Don't worry honey," he looked a little resigned. "They'll know what you mean if you tell them who you are and I gave the order."  
  
"Cause you're the Alpha?"  
  
He sighed and looked older suddenly. "Yeah. That's exactly it."   
  
The answer didn't make me feel any better.   
  
I waited to hear the shower turn on upstairs before picking up the phone. Millie at the hotel didn't even bat an eye, or at least I'm pretty sure she didn't, when I requested the usual for a meeting at my house tonight. "Official, Sophia?" she had asked. I don't even want to know what was going through her head. When I hung up, I felt sick to my stomach and ready to throw up. Why that was, I couldn't even begin to say.   
  
The knocking on the windowpane almost made me jump out of my skin. As it was, it made me burn my finger on the hot stove. Sucking on the burn, I opened the back door. Luke stepped in wearing a three-piece that immediately made me forget the pain.   
  
"You clean up nice," was the only thing that came to mind.  
  
"Thanks," he replied quietly, not a hint of humor in place. Not a good sign. "Is the Alpha around?" An even worse sign.  
  
I turned the boiler down low. "He's taking a shower. I'm making some dinner for him before the meeting so he isn't distracted by food. You want anything?"  
  
"Some of that steak you're cooking might be nice," he replied, sitting down at the breakfast table causally as if he wasn't wearing a tuxedo in my kitchen while I'm still in sweats and a tee shirt. "How are you doing? I heard you were sick."  
  
Frowning, I forked another piece of the steak onto the stovetop. "Does anything happen around here that everyone else cannot find out within like seconds?"   
  
"Not really," getting up to open the frig door. So far, he's had ample opportunities to touch me but he's avoided physical contact. Strange... not to mention very disturbing. "Don't you people keep anything to drink around here?"  
  
"I've got vodka in the cupboards if you want," I replied sarcastically.   
  
His blonde head popped up. "Where?"  
  
"I wasn't serious."  
  
"I was," shutting the door with a sigh. "And to answer your question, no one knows what the Alpha is thinking right now. So I guess not everything gets around."   
  
"I live in the same house with him and I don't know what is going through is head." Turning the meat with more force than necessary. "Luke, what's going on?"  
  
"What do you..."  
  
"Kanin. Diamond Black? What is it? I've got to know."   
  
He frowned, his pale blue eyes narrowing a bit. That serious as hell look shouldn't be so becoming on such a smartass playboy but it was. Even now, with everything dear at stake, I cannot deny that I notice that. "You really don't know, do you?"  
  
I wanted to slap some sense into him. "Pack history isn't my forte. Or did it escape your mind that up until not too long ago - hum, like last night - my dad was pretty much determined to keep me as far away from 'your kind' as possible?"   
  
He grinned suddenly, that cocky arrogant boyish smile that always sent my heart pounding a mile a minute. "Boy, you're hot when you're bristling." The subtle once over he gave me made my toes curl with heat. Damn him for being able to turn my insides into jelly without really trying.   
  
"Easy on the hormone, big shot," slapping a half raw beef on a plate and turning the stove off. "And give me the 411 on Diamond Blacks."   
  
He look slightly uncomfortable, an unexpected turn of events, as he picked up the knife and fork I had set down for him. I half expected him to go at it with his teeth and hand instead. "Aren't you eating?"  
  
"No," I answered abruptly. "Now give it to me straight."  
  
"I don't know, Sophia. I'm not the most reliable person when it comes to this kind of stuff. I mean, I sleep through half of Blackstone's classes and cheats on the rest. Maybe you should wait for your dad to..."  
  
"My father isn't talking and is not likely to either. We are hosting a meeting in my living room in like two hours and everyone in town knows something that I don't. So talk fast."   
  
I can almost see the wheels of his mind spinning as he considered his words and chewed at the same time. "Okay, keep in mind that half of what we learn about the pack is through legends and lore. Most of it doesn't even make sense. Some of it is damn near creepy if you ask me. Take you for example." I must have been wearing some kind of expression on my face, "No, I don't mean you're creepy." He gave me a good frown. "White wolves are rare. Very rare. Even in natural wolves there are few pure whites out there. There is like one in a hundred that are whites."   
  
He was so not making me feel any better. "Okay, I got your point. I'm special. Get on with it."  
  
"Legend has it that the white wolf is always female, at least those of us that can shift, and always the mates to the Alpha." He grinned again. The suggestion in his eyes wasn't so subtle this time.   
  
"I know about the White Wolf. Tell me about the Diamond Black."   
  
All the humor fled from his face. Those sober eyes seemed so unnatural on him yet... It was a good look on him. He swallowed before he answered.  
  
"Diamond Blacks are also known as 'Clan Breakers,' Clan breakers are exactly as they sound," he looked almost resigned. "Every few hundred hears you hear of a Diamond Black being born. Diamond Blacks are even more rare than whites. They don't come along very often and they're strong, unnaturally so. It's like Mother Nature built them as deluxe model or something so that they can take down the Alpha."   
  
"Don't say that!" Even I was surprised by my outburst.   
  
Luke immediately reached for me. His arms closed around my arms and torso before I can get away from him and his words... and the images his words evoked. I couldn't stand it; I just couldn't stand it.   
  
"Shh... It's okay," he murmured into my ear as I struggled to get away. "It's okay. Nothing is going to happen to your father." God I wish he wasn't so damn strong. It's really annoying that he can overpower me so easily.   
  
"We don't know that, Luke," I replied, calming down slightly but not completely. I could still feel the fear threatening to bubble up and overwhelm me. A part of me, somewhere inside, had already known. How could not have when everyone looks at him, Kanin, and my dad in that assessing manner. Like they were choosing sides of the battle line or something. And I've seen what Kanin can do. He's strong. Very strong. "We just don't know that. He could die, Luke." That wasn't an idea that I wanted to dwell on too long. It made my eyes sting and my blood run cold just voicing it the possibility out loud. "He could die."  
  
"I know." I didn't want to hear that, I didn't want to hear it from him. "I know."   
~~~~~~~~~~  
-Luke's POV-  
  
It wasn't easy. Wasn't nearly as easy as I thought being detached from the situation, not when I'm looking at her eyes and seeing the fear... feeling the fear... tasting the fear in her. It crackled the air around us. If Kanin wasn't my brother-in-law, I'd... ah hell, whom am I kidding? He's a Diamond Black and just took down Tyler Creed on his baby-legs. I won't last ten seconds with him... and I know it. And Sophia knows it.  
  
"Sophia?" the voice raised the hairs along the back of my neck and I wondered how the hell he could have gotten there without alerting one of us.   
  
"Daddy!" she pulled out of my arms so fast that I nearly stumbled. Forget the fact that I was really holding on, she was stronger than she seemed when she wanted to be.   
  
I turned to look at the Alpha. His eyes took us both in, flickered gold and frowned. "What's going on?"   
  
It was definitely wiser not to let him know that I just scared the pants off his little girl. "Sophia was just feeding me dinner." And took a seat again, finishing the half rare steak Sophia had been good enough to make for me.   
  
He didn't believe us, no one with half a brain would but he chose not to say anything. Probably didn't really want to know in case it was one of those things that parents really shouldn't know about their kids unless they want to be in therapy for the rest of their lives. Instead, he sat down and had dinner in silence with just me and his daughter. And since none of us felt much up to conversation, it was just as well.   
  
Sheriff Donner... the Alpha was sipping wine and staring out the window when the back door opened and Sherman, in a baby-blue suit, came in. The things that guy gets away with always amazes, not to mention amuses, me. Donner spit wine all over the table.   
  
"Evening, Matt," Mr. Blackstone greeted as if nothing extraordinary had happened.   
  
Sophia calmly got up to get a dishcloth to wiped off the table.   
  
Donner glared at Mr. Blackstone.   
  
Typically, Mr. Blackstone just smiled back. But when he turned those ancient soul-seeking eyes at me, I was anything but amused. "Good evening, Lucas. And how are you?"  
  
Maybe it's because in the past he has always treated me with the kind of nonchalant teacher-student relationship that I suddenly became warily of the polite tone in his voice. "I'm doing all right?"  
  
He thanked Sophia for the coffee she handed him with a smile. "You got wounded last night, didn't you?"   
  
Now how the hell did he know that? "Wound closed up nicely; no scarring, no bruising."  
  
"Oh good," Blackstone nodded, more to himself then to me. "And you Sophia? How are you feeling today? Jacob took a nice chunk out of you last night."   
  
I swear to the bright lady, I thought I saw red again. Not just the kind of red that you see when you get mad, I'm talking about the inferno kind. The red that I saw in Sophia's body last night when my life flashed before my eyes and everything was dark and ugly and all I wanted to do was tear a hole in the sky to let in the sunshine again. That kind of mind numbing red.   
  
The small hand on my shoulder was like being dropped into a warm bath after a hot terrible day. "I'm doing great. No scar, no bruise, not a mark on me. I do so love these new healing genes of mine."   
  
"Good, cause you are both so going to need to be in tip-top shape when..." the doorbell rang. "Ah... must be the caterers."   
  
"I'll get it," Sheriff Donner said quietly as he got up and headed for the door, giving Blackstone a sharp warning look.   
  
We sat there in silence, with me and Sophia taking turns peeking at the door and out the window and at each other while Sherman Blackstone sat there and enjoyed the Columbian coffee Sophia had served it. It would have been nerve wrecking if not for the fact that none of us were eager to get on with tonight's meeting. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, could possibly be good about the outcome.   
  
It was nearly nine when the last ray of sunlight disappeared over the mountains and darkness descended like a death shroud. I could hear the gathering of pack members in and around town... and those that surround this house. The night is when we play and when we hunt. And the night is when we are at our best. Tonight was no different.   
  
Of those that were gathered in Donner's living room, Kanin seemed to be the only one not affected by the tension. Sure, he was aware of it, what with those detective's instincts he's no doubt honed to perfection, but he chose not to comment on it or allow it to effect him. And he was the only one that was eating anything. I couldn't eat anything now if you paid me to.   
  
"I can't believe I slept all day?" Kanin muttered as he forked little cocktail hotdogs. The guy has been eating non-stop since he got here. Man, and they thought I was a bottomless pit.   
  
"I can," Ruby replied affectionately as she sat down behind him on the loveseat, one arm around his waist and the other resting on his knee. "The change is very tiring the first couple of times but your body will adjust and adopt to it. Eat up, your increase metabolism is going to need all the food you can possibly put in your mouth." If those two care any cuter together, I'd throw up.   
  
"Hum, another mystery solved," Kanin responded with a soft chuckle. "I always wondered why this town had the most fit people around when all I see is everyone eating red meat. Not exactly the stable of healthy diets."   
  
Ruby smiled, her smile full of indulgence, joy and fear as she gazed at his profile with such tenderness. She was hurting, and she was hiding it from her mate. "Eat up."  
  
"Aren't you going to have anything?" holding out his fork for her to take a bite. She took the bite of food to please him. Her eyes searched out Donner's.   
  
The Sheriff and Alpha of the pack looked as if his aged ten years in the ten minutes that everyone's been gathered. The strain was showing on his face and he was preparing himself for... for something. His eyes had been on Kanin from the moment the guy walked in and hasn't left it since. It was almost like Donner was... weighing him in some manner.   
  
"Why isn't anyone talking?" Sophia's voice was like a touch, soft and gentle. Her fear was there but it didn't hide the fact that she had strength within her.   
  
"We just getting ready to, Honey," Donner answered from across the room. Sophia flushed pink, probably forgot about the wolven hearing that was so good for eavesdropping.   
  
I reached for her hand, linking fingers and giving my silent assurance that everything will turn out all right. I just prey to whoever is listening up there that it will be. I honestly don't think Sophia can get through another night like the last one. Especially if it is going to end with the outcome of a fight between the Alpha and the Diamond Black.  
  
"Why don't we have something to drink?" Mom was always a good hostess. But then Dad always said that she had been brought up to be the best at what she does. What the particularly part is, is anyone's guess. "And then we can talk about this like the civilized people that we are." Was there a hint of a warning here? Ruby certainly thought so since her eyes became sharp and deadly.   
  
"No alcohol," Donner reminded gently but the authority was there in the tone.   
  
"Of course," came the forced cheery reply as my mother poured sparkling water into glasses.   
  
Oh yeah, this was a load of fun.   
  
"I take it that Ruby hasn't had a chance to update you on anything?" Donner said without preamble.   
  
Kanin shook his head slowly, his eyes searching the room for some clue as to the tension that seemed to suffocate the air around us. "I slept all day and woke up naked in a bathtub." He glanced at Ruby.  
  
She shrugged. "You needed a bath."  
  
"You could have just wakened me up."   
  
"I liked giving you a bath." She responded with an overly innocent smile. "It's one of the privileges of a wife."  
  
I honestly think Kanin blushed.   
  
"If you two are done with the lovey-dovey thing," Sherman said with a smile that was not at all innocent, "Maybe we should get to the point of this meeting. I've got a 10:00 PM appointment with a very lovely young lady to read her palms." I almost laughed but Mom's sharp look had me biting my tongue.   
  
Donner didn't stand; he didn't even look up from the fire that someone had started in the fireplace. "I don't want there to be bloodshed. This pack cannot go through another war, not after last night."   
  
"We've not lost too many," Mom responded, her eyes shifting uneasily as she watched Donner with the kind of concern that I've learned over the years to be wary of.   
  
"A life is a life, V," his eyes glowed dangerously bright, the man and animal barely suppressing their anger. "And they were of this pack. They were one of ours. One of us. I would think you of all people know that no matter what happens, it will always be us against them."   
  
Whoa... nobody, and I do mean nobody, talks to my mother like that. You'd be lucky if you can get the first sentence out before she turns you inside out.   
  
But color me shocked; did my mother just bow her head?   
  
Okay... this is all just a little too much for my feeble brain to take in all at once.   
  
"Are you okay?" Sophia asked, her hand squeezing mine. Her big brown eyes were soft, gentle, so full of goodness.   
  
"This isn't going too great," I whisper back.  
  
"What were you expecting?" she asked urgently. "I'm just glad that no one looks too eager to spring fangs and claws."   
  
"The night is young."  
  
She glared at me and yanked her hand away. "You are so not help, Luke."   
  
"No matter what, we have to stand united in the decisions made here," Donner's voice drew my attention again before I could tease Sophia about her touchy nature today. "I cannot allow the pack to falter and drop back into ... violence, not when we've come so far." The anger was something new. I've never seen him this angry, not even when he's warning me away from his baby girl.   
  
"Then do something about it," Mom wasn't suggesting something easy, was she? Her eyes were dark, and looked just a little too dangerous now.   
  
The sheriff linked his hands together and rested his elbow on his knees as he looked at Kanin. "You're strong, no one doubts that. You're also new to this game, and no one knows it better than you I think. But you are a Diamond Black, which makes you dangerous to me as the Alpha."  
  
Kanin seemed to be taking things in quickly and assessing the situation as only a cop could. "Look, I didn't come here looking to be a wolf or to step on anyone's toe. I can here looking for Ruby, that's the one and only reason I came to this blip on the map. That hasn't changed."  
  
"Everything has changed," Donner shook his head as his gaze came to rest on Sophia's concern face. "The only thing constant is change. And we all have to learn to live with it." He sighed and looked up; a strange resolve seemed to have taken place. "I'm not a greedy man. I don't need the position of power."  
  
"Think about what you're doing, Matt," my mother warned sharply.  
  
"I am, V. This pack has survived because we put its survival ahead of everything else. Willard understood that. And I would like to think that I do too." He nodded his head and turned to look at Blackstone, who for once had nothing to say as he watched the proceedings with a strange disapproval. Were Keepers allowed to be disapproving of what their Alpha does? "I've read the chronicles."  
  
"And?" he asked mildly, not a hint of humor in sight.   
  
"I cannot put the pack through a war. I won't."  
  
Mr. Blackstone was completely stoic.   
  
Ruby sat forward. "Sheriff..."   
  
"I knew what taking the role meant and I know that I have to do to insure that this pack survives to see the next millennium. John, Ruby, I trust in your sense of honor and justice. I trust you to do the right for this pack. And in that spirit, I resign my position as Alpha."  
  
"You can't!" My mother snapped, her fury almost tangible. "No one gets to just quit."  
  
"Well, I just did," Donner said simply and got up.  
  
"Oh no, you can't!" Kanin said following suit. "You are so not going to be laying this one on me. I didn't ask for this!"  
  
"No one asks to be Alpha," Donner replied dryly. Honestly, the guy looked almost exasperated.   
  
"I think that last night's fighting would disagree with you," came the comeback. The man did have a point.   
  
"Sheriff, please..." Ruby's hand was knuckle white against Kanin's arm. "We came here to..."  
  
"We all know what's going to happen out there," Donner pointed to the window. We all felt it, the constant presence of our brothers and sisters of the night. They were sitting out there; waiting for the next step, for the first move... whatever that may be. "You really think that just before he wasn't born one of us that they aren't going to follow him? He's a Diamond Black, accounted to be 'the' strongest of us. And he's proven it. On the bonus side, he's married to you, a white. You honestly think I'm not wise enough to know when I've got a fight on my hands? The best thing for me to do, the one thing that I can do to keep the blood from spilling, is to step down."   
  
"And what would that prove?" Mom isn't done getting her say in here. "That you're a wiser, stronger, more dedicated leader of this pack than any we've seen in centuries? That you're still the best man for the job, Diamond Black or no? You think your people are just going to roll over and follow someone else? An outsider?"  
  
"They'll do what I tell them to." And he was dead serious too.   
  
Ruby's eyes glowed fiery hot. "John is not an outsider!"  
  
"Sure I am," Kanin came back with. "I'm not going to deny that."  
  
"No you're not. You became family, part of the pack when you married me and flipped." Ruby turned those eyes to Donner. "John and I have had a chance to talk while we were dressing for this meeting. We're here to advise you of our plans."  
  
"Whatever plans you may have, cancel them," Donner replied in the most authoritative tone I've seen. If he wasn't going to be Alpha any more, he'd better learn to curb that. But then again, he's lived in this town for so long under another Alpha in that manner that there probably isn't any reason he has to. "We have to protect the pack, no matter what. Personal wants and desires no longer have any place here."  
  
"No," Ruby shook her head, hair wild mane of hair flying as her fury and fear began the change without her meaning to. Or at least, I think she doesn't mean to. "John and I just want a normal life without any of the..."  
  
"Tough," Donner spat back out at them. "Get use to the fact that you're in leadership position, whether you are Alpha, Alpha's mate or not. You were born into it Ruby and we both know it well. So suck it up and let's get on with this. We make the announcement now and maybe prevent any more of our own from killing each other before the night is through"  
  
The clapping was so out of place that it was thunderous. Everyone turned to stare at the lone figure across the room. Sherman Blackstone sat there, in a chair by the fire, his dark eyes like the night, twinkled with amusement and annoyance. It was weird, for someone so important and so... there, everyone seemed to have forgotten his very presence for a moment there.   
  
"Very prettily said, Matt. Really, that was a great speech, noble sentiments. And Ruby... what can I say." He sighed and pinned the lot of us with eyes that were all seeing then shook his head. "You're all idiots."  
  
Donner frowned at him as Kanin made unrecognizable noises with his throat. My mom and sister exchange glances of puzzlement and surprise as Sophia attempted to gauge holes in the palm of my hand. Me, I couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going on.   
  
This was way beyond me.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... (like the rest of you won't kill me if I didn't finish this up like a good little author)   
  
Feedbacks are welcome. 


	32. Chapter 32

The Normal Life  
  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Summary: Life is full of changes and a normal life is the least of what you can expect from the citizens of Wolf Lake.   
  
Acknowledgement: Okay Sapphire, you were right. (I bow to the master of fan fiction.) I cannot get this thing to end. AHHH... anyone that says that writing an ending is easy is so lying through their teeth. I think I've written and rewritten this chapter like eighteen times now and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. So yes, there will be an epilogue to wrap this up. (Hopefully the epilogue will be better than this, but don't hold your breath.)   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Ruby's POV-  
  
"You're all idiots."  
  
I'm not exactly sure who was more stunned, Vivian or Donner? Both of them seemed to have lost all power of speech as they stared at Sherman Blackstone. For the matter, none of us younger generations are doing any better. None of us knew what was going on anymore.   
  
"It's no wonder our ancestors designated a 'Keeper' for you all. Left to your own devices, you'd run the packs to the ground." And despite the sheriff's warning, he poured himself a stiff three finger Brandy. "I mean here we are four centuries after the Great Migration, and we still haven't learned a damn thing. What the heck have I been teaching all these years? Am I the only person in that classroom day in and day out?"  
  
In all the times that I've known Mr. Blackstone, from childhood to adulthood, through those hideously long classes he's mentioning now, I don't think I've ever seen anything but a cheery disposition on his face. Even in the most difficult of times, like when he's counseling my father on the last rites duties, he still always manages to crack at joke or two. But this, the annoyance mingled with suppressed anger, this was definitely new.   
  
And I don't think I've ever been as afraid of him as I am right now. There was something very... frightening about this very serious side of him. I cannot get it out of my mind that this man knows everything, and I do mean everything, there is to know about me and my family, and this pack.   
  
What he knows can destroy us. And we all know it.   
  
"Ah hell, I should just let you do the stupid and watch the pack go down in flames. No skin off my back." He sat down again and stared moodily at the fire.  
  
There was silence with only the crackle of fire to build the tension. John looked at me, unsure as to what to do. I shook my head, I was as lost as he was here.   
  
My little brother cracked first. "What the hell are you talking about?"   
  
Sophia's hand immediately went to his arm. "Luke!"  
  
"What?" shaking off her restraining hand. Luke's face probably reflected the same frustration and impatience that I can sense in John. Youth does have some benefits, such as unrestricted capabilities to speak their minds. "It's not an unreasonable question to ask. We were invited to this meeting for a reason, and he's the reason. So why shouldn't I ask what's going on if this is going to affect me?"   
  
"You know," Sherman said, that hint of dry amusement back in his tone. "That's probably the most sensible thing I've heard you say in a long time, young Cates."  
  
"Sherman," Donner was back in control now, you could almost see the restraints coming on around his temper. The Alpha was not a happy man. "Why don't you stop talking in riddles and for once in your life, give me something straight." I wanted to applaud him. Maybe it was time for our Keeper to stop playing games with us. I know I'm not the only one sick of having to dance to his tunes.   
  
"That's not my job," came the almost bored reply.  
  
"Not your job to interfere in pack business either but you seem to have no problems doing just that."  
  
Sherman tilted his head, almost grinning. "True."  
  
"So let's hear it," Donner pronounced, sitting down once more to regard the older man with patient eyes. Matt Donner is one of the few men I know of that seem to have this endless capacity to for the frustratingly annoying situations. "What do you have in your infinite 'wisdom' as the Keeper of our clan that will save us all?"  
  
The look of annoyance was back in his eyes. "Didn't you read any of the stuff I gave you? Cause I sure the hell didn't make the effort to dig them out for my own health you know."   
  
"I said I read them."  
  
"And did you learn anything from them besides that fact that the packs had a couple of power-hungry alpha males ruling them at the time?"   
  
There was a silence. "I learned that the pack was depleted to less than half their number each time a Diamond Black appeared. Internal wars start with each Beta taking sides, then spreads like wildfire among the clan. It's civil war, with the winners taking control of the pack. Sometimes it's the Alpha's side. Sometimes it's the Diamond Black's side. But no one really wins in the end; the rebuilding process takes the next century or two."  
  
I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out.  
  
I felt more than saw John shook his head in disbelief. "Are you tell me that because I'm me, some idiot out there," pointing toward the dark window, "Is going to try to...to..." he searched for a good description for what may happen.  
  
"Try to take my head off and stick it on a pike," Donner supplied in a less than helpful manner. He seemed almost resigned to that fate.   
  
"I don't think so," Sophia muttered darkly. "They're so going to have to get pass me first."   
  
"And to get to you, I'll have to get through me," Luke announced in an almost ironically cheery manner.   
  
"And round and round we go," Blackstone sang. "Where we stop..."  
  
"I certainly do know," John said dryly. "Anyone that tries to get to the Sheriff will have to kill me first."  
  
"Not a chance in hell." I didn't even realize that I had said it until everyone turned to me. I could feel the animal inside fighting to get out. There was almost a hot rage in me. "I've worked too long and too hard for this to just let it go. There's another way," I looked pointedly at Blackstone. "There has to be or you won't be steering up this road."   
  
"You always were the smart one," he smiled in that knowing matter that almost seemed to irritate my father. Dad use to say that Sherman knows too much and tells to little, which is perfectly true; but what really irritates my father was that Sherman knew more now that Dad ever well. And being a male, it chafed his ego to no end; even if didn't consciously acknowledge it.   
  
"So why don't you enlighten us?" V said softly. I looked at her. There was something there, something I hadn't seen before. Until know, I had assumed that her infatuation of Donner was the reason she had been so against John. But look at her now, at the way her eyes seemed to glow as they watched Blackstone's every move, it hit me, my dear stepmother was terrified.   
  
And I think that scared me more.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Sherman's POV-  
  
If I weren't so damn annoyed with Donner's shortsightedness and Kanin's stubbornness, I'd be laughing my ass off. I was trained, oh way too many years ago, to not say anything to those that I observe. That's what Keepers do; we keep the history of our people so the next generation can learn from them. But I've observed, probably from the onset of things, that the pack don't learn squat. You know how sometimes you get so frustrated that you just want to beat someone's head inward with a hammer? Well.... That's me. Right now. At this very moment. And everyone single one of those guys looks pretty good to be my victim right about now.  
  
As brilliant of member as this generation has produced, they are pretty blinded by their own ideas and histories to see beyond their noses. Or maybe it's all this turbulent emotional crap that the psychologists are always trying to shove down our throats. Whatever it is, it's just pathetic from where I'm standing. What a pity!  
  
My mentor, may the bright lady keep his evil soul, would probably kill me if he knew what I was about to do. Koma always had a rather destructive streak in him that would probably enjoy watching our people tear themselves apart. But if I allow that to happen, I'd be making Koma a really happy dead spirit. The rebellious student in me just can't quite let that happen.   
  
"Okay Kiddies," turning the chair so that I was facing them and throwing myself into the shadows with the fire behind me. It would be better if they couldn't read me, not that many of them can. Kanin... he was the unknown factor in this. But Kanin can be brought around if I can just grab Ruby on broad, which could be the problem cause she's young enough to rebel. Matt... he'll listen to reason if Vivian don't do something stupid. Luke and Sophia, too young to do anything about it right now but old enough to understand and weigh in. That's what I'm counting on, the young to sway the older ones. "Let's go through the last lesson a couple of you are ever going to get from me. Next time, you are on your own."   
  
Matt, the poor hapless good guy, sighed. "Sherman, do we really have to play these games?"  
  
"I'm the Keeper, indulge me as I have indulged you all for way too long."  
  
"I'm gamed since I haven't ever heard anything before." John Kanin, wiser than I could ever thought possible, sat down again and took his wife's hand. "Go ahead."  
  
The others, reluctant, but helpless to do anything else, followed suit and made themselves comfortable.   
  
For better or worse, here we go. "Okay children, who can tell me what's so special about the White Wolf? And I'm not going to put up with half ass shit like 'they're really pretty' kind of answer."  
  
Ruby tiled her head, her gray eyes, inherited from her sweet little Regina, flashed bright for a moment as she poked around the edges of my mind. Oh no, no, little girl; I ain't the Keeper for nothing. Her face flashed a look of pure apprehension, probably the first time she's never gotten into someone's head before; strong little bitch Ruby was. "Father drummed it in my head the minute he saw me after I flipped that Whites only come when the pack needs them the most, during wars, famines, times of great uncertainty. They are guardians, protectors of the clan."  
  
"Ten points for Ms. Cates... er... Mrs. Kanin. Now who can tell me what's so special of Diamond Blacks?" I looked at Kanin, who stared blankly back at me. Damn Richard for staying away. John Kanin should have been raised here; where he belonged, where he could have been better prepared for what's to come.   
  
Luke raised his hand as if he was still in the classroom. It took some doing, but I didn't laugh at him as I nodded for him to answer. "Diamond Blacks are the most powerful of the males. They say that he usually surpasses the Alpha is destined to ultimately take over a clan."  
  
I wiggled a finger at him. "You want to quote me, do it correctly." Those blue eyes narrowed for a moment as he concentrated, I hope he didn't blow too many brain cells in the exercise.   
  
Those brows cleared as he looked up. "Sorry. I meant: he is destined to ultimately lead a clan."   
  
"Lead a clan?" Sophia asked, her eyes glazed over with confusion for a moment. Damn Matt for purposely keeping her out of my classes. She should know this stuff much better by now. "He becomes Alpha?"  
  
"That's what the story says," Luke answered her quietly.  
  
"It does not," V replied impatiently. "On more than one occasion, the Alpha's supporters manage to over take the Diamond Blacks and continue to lead as head of the clan. Being a Diamond Black does not guarantee him to be Alpha."   
  
Hum... I always thought Vivian was too busy contemplating her next move in her climbing of her social letter to pay attention to history lessons in class. "That's very true." I nodded my head slowly. "Now what other factors play out in making Diamond Blacks special."  
  
I could see Ruby search her memories for those numerous lessons in my class. I taught them, always to give them as much information as I can; those that want more can seek me out, as Ruby has done in the past. "Social change."  
  
"Excuse me?" Kanin looked at his wife with curiosity.   
  
Ruby's eyes closed as if trying to see something in her mind's eye. "Social change. History lessons are usually taught from the social, economic and political point of view. Politically, when a Diamond Blacks roll around, there really aren't any constant factors; just the usual elders against youth that generally come with revolutions, at least the ones that I vaguely remember." She squinted as if to see words and charts on a blackboard. "Economically, the packs are usually thriving when a black appears. And I mean, they're living good times when he comes along. No hunger, no famine, not hardships really."  
  
"And socially?" Matt asked quietly but his eyes already told me he knew the answer. Matthew Donner didn't graduate at the top of his class for nothing. He knows what's coming.  
  
"Socially," her face tightened as she remembered a lesson taught. "Socially the pack was becoming stronger. Towns would be literally taken over by the pack, from major to janitor. Humans wouldn't get the same treatment as pack members; they would become second rate. That's what usually start the youth in their rebellion."  
  
"With a Diamond Black to lead them?" Sophia asked, her eye going from her stoic father to the hesitant Kanin. She couldn't have been more obviously nervous if she were to start sweating bullets. Poor kid.   
  
"That's usually what happens," Ruby opened her eyes, not meeting Donner's gaze as her fingers tightened in Kanin's hand. Ouch, by the look of the white knuckles, I'm surprised Kanin didn't have any broken bones yet.   
  
You could almost see the gears in Kanin's head turning slowly, putting together the thoughts and ideas as quickly as he could. Quite fascinating to watch really, if it weren't for the fact that I could almost feel the tension outside rising as members argue over what could be happening inside the house. "I'm not sure what the 'rebellion' was all about. But if there were too many people, splitting into two distinct political thoughts, that there are those that are straining at the reins of the old ways, why don't they just pack up and move."  
  
"Because no one just leaves the pack, Mr. Kanin," V was more than a little livid now. Cool as a cucumber she may appear on the outside but damn if she wasn't ready to sweat blood any minute now.   
  
"Why not?" came the expected question.  
  
"Survival," Ruby murmured softly. "You have any idea what the world would do to us if they knew? Or if we dilute the blood enough that there is no change? The survival of our people depends on our staying together, as a pack."  
  
"Look, I'm not saying that scattering to the four winds would have been the solution to the social problems in the past," Kanin was looking around the room, more than little surprised by the confusion on everyone's face. The man was smart, I give him that much. But then again, it could be that he didn't live in this life, learned our ways that gave him the much-needed outside perspective. Light knows I cannot give it to them as bluntly. "But come on, killing each other off cause you don't agree on certain philosophy of life isn't exactly the answer either. I mean, even the American Indians knew to let their youth go when the time came."  
  
Matt's whole body seemed to surge upward as he straightened. "Say that again?" The light flickered in his eyes, sending a wave of raw power through the air.   
  
I was distracted for a moment by the look of awe on Sophia's face, then by the sheer rapture on Vivian's. I swear that woman lives off of power. Luke and Ruby had the same reaction, every muscle on their body tensed in reaction to authority being projected. Too many year with the old man I suppose. Only Kanin seemed unaffected, or at least he barely registered being hit by it.   
  
"I mean that even the American Indians knew when to siphon off some of their youth, usually the most rebellious ones that were chafing at the stability of the tribe. Why do you think there were so many tribes?" He looked around at the stunned faces that faced him. "What?"  
  
As one, they all turned to me. I think the wholly evil grin on my face was more than enough answer for them as Matt practically collapsed on the coach with a groan. "Kanin, I knew I was going to like you from the first moment I saw you."   
  
The end... almost.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, in case you didn't read the above and is currently cursing at me. I am writing another chapter, an epilogue of a sort to close the big gaps in this story. Yes, I too am not happy with the ending of it. Check back in two weeks, I might have it done by then. 


	33. Epilogue

The Normal Life  
  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that are recognizable and I certainly don't own the show. Don't sue me cause all you're going to get is lent, and not much of that either.  
  
Note: For those of your that has followed this story from the beginning, you know that I've always kind of kept these chapters in first person form. But for the epilogue I couldn't decide which of these fascinating characters I wanted it seen through. So I decided, just for this chapter, to do it in third person form. I hope you enjoy the final chapter to this story.   
  
Rating: R for restricted under 17.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Epilogue-  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-One week-  
  
Donner looked up from his paperwork as the door to the station slammed shut. One look and Molly, wiser than she looks, scrambled out from behind her disk and announced that she was going to go on patrol for a while and gave Kanin a wide circle as she left. Matt had difficulties suppressing his grin.  
  
"How's it going?" Matt asked quietly as John poured himself a healthy dose of java to fortify himself.   
  
"The Betas are nut cases!" John threw the file under his arm onto his disk before taking a seat next to Donner's desks. "But I had to break up three fights last night alone. Why the hell weren't you there?"  
  
"I thought it better if I absent myself for last night's meeting," he didn't add that anything he said at the meeting as to who got to leave to join Kanin and who was to stay may have caused a riot. "I take it Derek and Josh are still unhappy with the decision to Janice needs to leave but Gabby needs to stay?"  
  
"I'd rather not separate husbands and wives..." Kanin argued again.  
  
"But you know I'm right about this," Donner added quiet. "You're going to need a healer, Janice is the best there is in the pack. Gabby will do in a pinch but you need Janice to help you establish there first. We'll switch off after things are stable."  
  
"It could take years," John pointed out gravely.  
  
"Yes it could. But if we cannot get things done in less than three, I'll move Josh to you. But right now, I need him here to keep order."   
  
"Understood." They sat there in companionable silence for a moment. "I took the job in Peak Pines."  
  
Donner grinned unabashedly. "Sheriff of your own town. How about that?"  
  
He didn't bother to hide his grin. The job was going to make the transition a lot easier if he could watch over what is being seen and heard. "How did you manage to pull off something like that?"  
  
"We have our own ways. But I'm not going to take credit for that one. Ruby did it on her own."  
  
John nodded his head. "She didn't seem the least bit surprise by it."  
  
"The Cates have been around these parts for some time now. Four generations of Alpha males could build up some mighty powerful connections around here."   
  
Kanin accepted this without question, as he has for many things in the week following the long and exhaustive night where the fate of the pack was decided among a group of leader and future leaders and their know-it-all Keeper. John may not have been raised with the pack, but he knew how to manage around them and their rules with ease. The only duty he truly disliked, and most Alphas disliked it, was the administering of the last rites. Unfortunately for Kanin, the risen tension had caused more than one teen to hit the threshold in the past week. Of the eight teens that attempted to cross over, only three survived. Matt had attended to three while John had attended to two and observed the first one. Both men had been sick to their stomach after each one.   
  
"When is the move?"  
  
"Another week. Two hundred miles due West and we're just a holler away if you need us."   
  
"And visa-versa. We may be two packs but we're still one family." He smiled and as Sophia walked by the large window and waved cheerfully at her father. Donner then scowled as Lucas Cates suddenly came up from behind Sophia and swept her off her feet and took off with her squealing in delight. "Though sometimes I wish..."  
  
Kanin laughed and watched with amusement as papa wolf reared its ugly head. "He's going to be good to her. You know he is."  
  
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," he pointed out with a sigh. "Just wait until you have a little girl of your own. And then you can tell me about not worrying over the fact that she's dating the town bad boy."   
  
That efficiently removed the smile on Kanin's face. "Speaking of children..."  
  
Donner looked over, not the least bit surprised. "Ruby's pregnant?"  
  
"Though how she could possibly know after only week..."  
  
"Don't ever question a woman about these kinds of things. It's asking to be put into the doghouse."  
  
"But so soon after we've..."  
  
"We're a prolific breed."  
  
"Thanks for that warning."  
  
"Kanin," Donner advised seriously. "Have lots of children. Don't just settle for one or two."  
  
He nodded. "The death rates are pretty high around here."  
  
"Don't start thinking about that until you have to."  
  
"Not much of a choice," John shook his head. "Did you know that Frank Palina's daughter started the change last night?"  
  
"I heard."   
  
"Ruby says she'll stop by tonight."  
  
"May the gods be merciful."  
  
"Amen to that."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-Three Months After That-  
  
"And Sherman is sure?" V asked again as her brows clouded with concern. "Without a Keeper than cannot officially be..."  
  
"They're a pack, V," Matt said quietly, signing papers that he didn't particularly care to read but had to. "Keepers have their own codes and we don't interfere in those." He didn't want to mention to her that Sherman's already informed him that a Keeper has been born among those transplanted to Peak Pines. The new addition would no doubt to schooling here soon.   
  
"Like he doesn't interfere in ours?" she replied dryly as she sat down in front of the fire. "The house was quiet, Luke having gone out with his friends and Sophia was at home in town. Donner only visits the Alpha House on occasion, and only for business. "When are you going move in here?"  
  
"This is your home, V." He answered as he always does. The profits from the brewery were going to allow for the addition in the hospital he planned on overseeing. "I'm only a guest here."  
  
"Could be lord and master here if you.... You are lord and master here."  
  
"Vivian..."  
  
"How long are you going to fight this?"  
  
"Fight what?"  
  
She turned, eyes of amber glowing brighter than the fires they reflected. "What has always been between us."  
  
"Vivian..." he warned again.  
  
"It's not natural," she responded with. "If you were seeking out another to relieve yourself, I would back off. But without woman, a female for... how long has it been? It's unnatural, Matt. You know it is. And now that you've decided to join us again," she smiled at those chosen words, "The urge is only going to grow. We are not meant to be celibate for long."   
  
"Hum..." he made no mention that he's heard she's been keeping to herself of late, allowing no man into her bed. It both flattered and scared him. Vivian could be quite dangerous when she goes after something, or someone, she wants.   
  
She was not a woman that likes being vulnerable. But she's waited more than sixteen years now. "All you have to do is say the word."  
  
"I'm not ready yet, V." He pronounced without a least bit of heat though is eyes glow at her invitation. "Not yet."   
  
She sighed and nodded her head, resign to move on to business. "I'm moving the Millers and the Brodericks next week. They should complete the first cycle. We cannot move any more without drawing attention."  
  
"Agreed," Donner noted something on his tablet. "And Betas and I will meet with Kanin and his people next week to discuss a more viable timetable."   
  
"Josh has been making noise about seeing his wife."  
  
"I'll send him with the message then."  
  
"Good," she glanced at the list in front of her. "We lost two more last week."  
  
"I know," Donner's eyes were dark. "I was there."  
  
"That makes a total of fifteen so far."  
  
"Kanin's got six more to add to that."   
  
"Have they added to the..."  
  
"Not enough time yet," he responded with a sigh. "They've been holding the ceremonies in the basement of his home."  
  
"Someone might hear," she warned darkly. Peak Pines were overrun with hunters in the Hunting Seasons. It was a place they've always tried to avoid. But despite her misgivings, Ruby and Kanin have managed to create a place for themselves in that hostile environment, though there was a near incident three weeks ago with a hunter. Not to put some of their own people in the right positions.   
  
"They might." He agreed. "Let's talk transport."  
  
"Too dangerous," she shook her head. "Two hundred miles with woods on either side. We lose them in route, we could lose them for good."   
  
He nodded in agreement. The risks were too high. "Suggestion?"  
  
Vivian considered it for a moment, her eyes trained on the stars outside the window. "Ruby's people are good at building fast. Let's shift the migration crowd, push our healers in. I'm sure the Cates foundation can donate some extra money for a new wing or two... and maybe something extra?" her eyes slanted back toward him, knowing well Matt's aversion to manipulation of the humans.   
  
No matter what his feelings were on the subject, Matt knew what was important for his people. "If it can be managed, do it." He glanced down at this scribbles across his notepad. "Anything else?"   
  
"Luke and Sophia."  
  
That got his attention in a hurry. "What about them?"  
  
"There's been talk," Vivian murmured quietly as she got up to pour herself three fingers of the fine brandy that Willard always loved so much. "Most members are accepting of the relationship but there has been recent activities within the younger set."  
  
"Luke leads that set."  
  
"I know," a hint of maternal pride lacing through her silky voice. "But you forget that Sophia is white, rare among the rare. Her standing in the pack is well above touch. Her attachment to anyone is... she's a very powerful ally. And so others court her favors. Lucas has been challenged no less than eight times now."   
  
V playing mother hen would have been amusing if it weren't for the fact that Matt knew only too well that Sophia could get caught in the cross fires. "If Luke can't handle his people..."  
  
"I'm asking for your consent, as the Alpha and her father, to announce their engagement."  
  
"Luke proposed?" not a hint of emotion on his face.   
  
She raised a brow. "He would if he didn't think you would rip his head off. He lives with a rather unfound fear of you."   
  
"It's not unfound," he replied but decided it would be wiser not to mention the night he cornered young Cates in the woods for some serious words. No matter what V may feel for him, Luke was her son and she would protect him to the bitter end.   
  
The warning in her eyes spoke volumes but she didn't voice them. "Sophia was very upset about the last three fights."  
  
"When were they?" he'll have to look into it if it became too much for them to cover as just boys being boys.   
  
"Last night," she replied dryly.   
  
"By the lake?"  
  
She nodded her head, toying with the pendant around her neck. "Your daughter apparently has a very protective streak in her. She took down two herself when five of them attacked at the same time."  
  
"Pack mentality," he shook his head. He has already heard more than one rumor concerning his daughter, none of them he liked. But for all intent, she was handling herself among the younger set well. But marriage? "She's only sixteen."  
  
"Going onto thirty with all the shit she has to put up with," Sherman said as he entered, startling the two occupants of the room. "But given what she is, that's not surprising."   
  
"Damn it, Sherman," Donner growled darkly. "Don't you ever knock?"  
  
"Why?" he asked, genuinely confused. "It's not like you're going to be doing anything I'd be embarrassed to find out about." Then eyed him shrewdly, "Unless you came to your senses already." When Vivian threw Donner a triumphant look and Matt refused to meet his eyes, Sherman snorted. "Thought so."   
  
"What do you want?" Matt asked sharply.   
  
Sherman helped himself to good wine and casually dropped himself into a chair by the fire. "Just to tell you that it would probably ease some of the tension around here if your daughter was aligned with a strong family. Don't get me wrong; there isn't any upraising on the horizon. But Sophia engaged to Luke could go a long way to settling both the minds of the pack members who are unsure what's going to happen to the pack if anything happens to their oh-so-wise leader. Bonus being that it will quiet the kiddies as well to know that the Alpha is behind the couple."   
  
Donner was visibly torn. His duties as the leader and peacekeeper did not mesh well with his duties as a father. "She's too young."  
  
"She's sixteen going on seventeen in three days. She'll have until eighteen to make up her mind about Luke," Sherman said reasonably. "In the meantime, she'll get some peace when the challenges die down with an actual show of commitment by Luke."   
  
V nodded her head. "It would assure the Betas that the next generation is going to be lead wisely."  
  
Matt glared at her. "You've already got a ring for Luke to give her, don't you?"  
  
She didn't bother answering.  
  
The Keeper chuckled and waited for the decision.   
  
With a sigh, "If she says yes, I won't oppose it."  
  
"Good," Sherman capped his hands together. "Now that we're done here."  
  
"You on your way to see Kanin?"  
  
"Yeah," came the reply in sober tones. "The pack from Acorn Falls have made contact with our little brothers and sisters in Peak Pines. Kanin got into it with a couple of member yesterday."  
  
Donner's eyes glowed brightly. "You know this for sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Was Ruby there?" V asked, knowing that Ruby's presence would have calm down things faster than anything else.   
  
"No, and it didn't help that Kanin is a Diamond Black."  
  
"One would think that the two of them would offset the reactions they get," Donner replied dryly. "Was anyone..."  
  
"They have one dead and three wounded. Kanin came out without a scratch but we've got one lied up for a while." Sherman picked lint from his shoulder. "It's going to get ugly, Donald Worthington from Acorn Falls isn't too keen on a new pack in the neighborhood, and so close to his own."   
  
"He's afraid of migration," V pointed out with disgust. "The man is barely hanging on to his position by a thread. His people have made it no secret that they are tired of his uncompromising streak. I'm surprised that no one has challenged him yet."  
  
"I think they're just waiting for him to die of his own poisons," Sherman said making a gagging sound. "The man drinks like a gully fish."   
  
Donner nodded his head in agreement. "But if he succeeds in taking Kanin's pack over, he's back on top of the food chain."  
  
V's eyes glittered. "So you think he'll start a pack war to stay in power."  
  
Sherman looked at her as if she's lost her bloody mind. "What are you nuts? Of course he'll do it. And if he can off his wife and take Ruby in the process..."  
  
"Ruby would kill him first," V grinned, almost amused by the idea. "Hum..."  
  
"The point is," Donner said firmly, drawing their attention once more. "Acorn Falls isn't just going to leave Kanin's people alone. They've been faltering for some time now. It's no secret that the Greyland pack has been slowly moving in on their territories for some time now. That there hasn't been outright bloodshed is a miracle. Peak Pines is still a fledgling pack, they're vulnerable and Donald of Acorn Falls knows it. We're looking at a potential pack war there."   
  
Vivian nodded her head slowly. "Come what may. Kanin and Ruby knows that they've got support here if they need it."  
  
Blackstone smiled, glad that this problem is being handled properly, but he couldn't help throwing one last thought in. "Assuming John and Ruby are going to ask for help. Smart those two may be but they are still mighty young and a little too arrogant for their own good."   
  
Donner nodded. "Then we best keep a close eye on things. Peace isn't assured yet."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
-In the Stairwell-  
  
"We don't ever get a break, do we?" Sophia whispered, unwilling to rely on her mental speech. Her father has gotten rather good a picking up on those lately. Frightening when your parent can get into your mind so easily.   
  
"Looks like," Luke murmured, tightening his arm around her from behind as they sat on the stairs, listening on a conversation they had no business listening in on. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the floral fragrance of her perfume that he was seriously becoming addicted to. "Pack war. That's serious stuff."  
  
"You think it'll come to that?" her fingers dug into his arm but he didn't make a murmur of protest.   
  
"You dad... the Alpha seems certain that that's where it's headed," he replied, feeling the Goosebumps along her arm. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."   
  
"John and Ruby..."  
  
"Are not going to let Acorn Falls take over their pack," he would bet his hid that Ruby would tear in anyone that tries to destroy that little sanctuary she's created for herself in Peak Pines. For the first time since he's become friends with his sister, she was happy. Pregnant and happy.   
  
"Would you go to them if they need us?"  
  
He didn't even have to think about it. "Yes."  
  
She nodded. "Then I'll be coming with you."  
  
"You'll need to stay here."  
  
"Luke..."  
  
"The White has to stay to protect this pack while we're off," he explained reasonably. Plus he didn't want to think of her out there battle it out with some of the most vicious of their kind. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I promise."  
  
She smiled, pressing her lips to the hands that she's got clasped in hers. "They war hasn't even started and you're already talking about coming home to me."  
  
Luke's eyes flashed in the night. "And your father just consented to let us get married."  
  
"Engaged, Luke," she reminded him gently. "He agreed not to oppose an engagement."  
  
"Same thing," he grinned and reached into his back pocket. "It's a pink diamond, my grandmother's."  
  
She stared at the simple solitaire set in pale yellow gold that twinkled from the nest of burgundy velvet. "Oh my god," shocked at something so beautiful.  
  
"You like it?" he asked, suddenly unsure of himself.   
  
"It's beautiful," turning her head to press a kiss against his lips. "I love it."   
  
"Good," he murmured softly against her cheek and sighed. "I love you."  
  
It was the first time he's said it and it took her breath away. "I love you too."   
  
She took a deep breath, feeling herself swell with joy as he leaned his head against hers. They were going to be okay, she had to believe that. All this wonderful joy in her heart couldn't be for nothing. They may not have a normal life but they were going to be all right.   
  
For now, they were safe. How long that would last was another question.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The End.... (for now)  
  
Author's Note: This story has been a joy to write cause there was just so much to play with. I'm so disappointed that the series was ended before its time. But it certainly has give us all a lot to play with in the world of fan fictions. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. And since this story kind of ended with an opening for a sequel, I may revisit it in the future. Thanks for sticking around. 


End file.
